The Tides of Change
by CyberJordan
Summary: Political instability, a pro-NCR terrorist militia, caravan attacks and a mysterious warrior in black. All part of normal life in independent New Vegas...or is it?
1. New Vegas:new threats

It's been awhile since I needed the new story function! Time to try out the NV theatre. Please forgive me as unlike Steel Vengeance this might be a little slow to start. I've got a few OCs to put in as well as the new Courier and a lot of background; it might take 2 or 3 parts. This is _still in development_ so if anyone's got any good ideas/insights or suggestions drop in a review or a message and I'll see what I can do. Ok here goes nothing...

**Intro sequence**

_War...war never changes. Following the second Battle of Hoover Dam a new order settled over the Mojave and New Vegas itself. The Courier, after vanquishing most of his past ghosts at the Divide, took control of the city and forced out both the NCR and Caesar's Legion. Afterward he faced the difficult process of forming a new government and taking New Vegas into an uncertain future. In spite of his victory and the support of the people of New Vegas, the Courier still faced a myriad of problems._

_Caesar's Legion, surprisingly, was not one of them. It had retreated from Hoover Dam altogether and it showed no signs of returning. Word was that the newly crowned Caesar, Lucius, and the now Legate Vulpes Inculta were occupied suppressing an internal rebellion and other domestic problems. _

_The NCR was another matter. Many in the Republic had never come to terms with the Courier's 'defection' and their subsequent defeat at Hoover Dam. Despite their mistrust and suspicion of the Courier's motives, however, they were not in a position to oust him militarily after 4 years of war with the Legion. President Kimball accepted the Courier's peace offering and re-opened trade links across the border. Nonetheless tensions have escalated recently as a new militia: the NCR patriots have begun attacking New Vegas holdings. The NCR government has disavowed any support or knowledge of the Patriots but that has not been accepted by many in New Vegas where anti-NCR feeling has been rekindled._

_Now, in early 2282, the Courier struggles to find the source of these Patriot attacks and hold back the tide of hostility toward the NCR. No one could know that this was only a prologue of the change and bloody events to follow. Once again the wheel of change is poised to turn..._

**Lucky 38 top floor- January 2282**

20 year old Jaden Storm, once a simple courier, now had a lot of titles to his name. Doctor of the Followers of the Apocalypse, Brotherhood of Steel Paladin, controller of the Big Empty, rescuer of Zion, conqueror of the Divide and now President elect of the New Vegas Alliance. All of this would have been doubly shocking to most as Jaden looked even younger than he was. He was only 5'10, brown hair in military style and with looks that most girls would have described as 'cute', it was easy for people to underestimate him. The soft looks masked a steel hard determination; plus he was certainly not soft in body either. His muscles were well developed, thanks to his intense training and the medical implants inside of him. His combat talent was only exceeded by his diplomatic ones; he seemed to have the ability to negotiate his way out of nearly any situation. In the last 2 months he'd persuaded the Great Kahns to let go of their vendetta against the NCR; they'd now left the Mojave for a new home. He'd brought the Boomers out of isolation, persuaded the King to stop his feud in Freeside and even stop a schism between Super Mutants at Jacobstown. His only failure on this front, at least as far as Jaden was concerned, was his inability to talk his nemesis Ulysses down at the Divide. He'd been able to save the world from another nuclear holocaust but not Ulysses himself. Like Elijah at the Sierra Madre before him, Ulysses refused to back down...and it had cost both of them their lives.

Even with all the hardship and struggle Jaden and New Vegas had gone through he didn't regret most of his choices over the last six months and certainly not given his recent battle with Ulysses. For all his novice ability at ruling at least he could say he cared about New Vegas, whereas the other factions had just been intent on using it for their own ends. Nonetheless the reckoning with Ulysses had unearthed some unpleasant facts about his previous life about which he could remember very little. Desperate to find some truth he'd been undergoing therapy with Doctor Usanagi to try and recover some of his other lost memories following 2 big moments of self discovery at Bitter Springs and then later at the Divide.

"Your guests are arriving now."

Jaden turned to see Arcade Gannon, Veronica Santangelo and the stone faced Craig Boone approaching from the elevator.

"You're making us feel underdressed Jaden," Veronica joked on seeing him in his formal suit given to him by the White Gloves. "Maybe I should get into my dress!"  
"Doesn't exactly go with your power fist, does it?" Jaden shot back. "Given your Elder's coming you're on security today. Perhaps next time?"  
"You always say that!" Veronica pouted. "I'll hold you to that promise sometime. I'd best go and send our guests up."

"No sign of the Patriots knowing about today's meeting, all of them made it to Vegas." Boone was typically all business.

"No leaks high up at least then," Jaden was relieved about that.

The Patriots were a bit of an enigma; coming out of nowhere 3 weeks ago to start causing chaos on Vegas' caravans. They were fairly well equipped: green combat armour, assault carbines, grenades, explosives, some laser and plasma weapons but the biggest shock was that some had Pulse guns. For a nation largely defended by Securitrons that was very bad news and, whilst he was certain the Patriots had some covert NCR backing, Jaden couldn't figure out for the life of him where the Patriots had got these weapons. He was having his 'friends' at the Big Empty along with the Brotherhood try and come up with a solution or counter to this problem.

The Patriots' demands were simple: dissolution of the New Vegas government and annexation into the NCR. So far though the response had been simple too: go fuck yourselves. If anything the attacks were stiffening the spines of every New Vegas citizen and were causing a lot of backlash, Jaden and the King had their work cut out keeping the peace in Freeside lately.

Boone, for his part, despised the Patriots. He was glad that President Tandi was in her grave now; knowing the country she'd established was now associated with Raider style caravan attacks would have given her a heart attack for sure. As far as he was concerned they denigrated the very flag they claimed to serve and he treated them like Legion: so far he had 17 of them on his kill tally.

"I don't think they'll attack a big target for awhile," Boone smirked. "Not after what we did to them last time."

Just after New Year the Patriots had tried upping the ante hitting the Followers' clinic east of the caravan station but it went spectacularly wrong. Even though the attackers wore combat armour and looked very professional; their actions proved them anything but. Instead of blowing up the building instantly with the launcher they had, they'd tried shooting their way in and got into a full gun battle with the Follower guards. Despite having better armour and equipment they couldn't rush the door and ended up stuck there until Jaden happened to show up for his session and ended up killing all 4 as they stupidly tried to rush him. It was more like fighting Raiders than professional soldiers.

Worrying that there might be more he got inside and helped the Followers clear out. They'd just had enough time to get themselves, their Auto-Doc and most of their equipment out of the building before a Vertibird came up from the South and levelled the building with a hail of rockets. The Patriots' victory was short lived; all the action had attracted the attention of four Securitrons who locked onto it with their missiles and blew it out of the sky. Since then the Patriots had stuck to caravan raids. Jaden moved Usanagi and her friends into some spare rooms at the Lucky 38 until a new place could be found for her.

Although damaging the failed raid had turned up some interesting facts. Their armour wasn't as good as it first looked; it was in pretty poor condition and obviously mass produced rush jobs. The remains of the Vertibird revealed that it was a repainted NCR one; a fact which caused no end of embarrassment to Ambassador Crocker when Jaden confronted him with it. This certainly meant someone in the NCR was slipping equipment and weapons to his hidden enemies but that the quality and experience of the Patriots was spotty at best. Obviously whoever was running the show with them hadn't got too many volunteers from the NCR army so he'd been forced to use wastelanders and Raiders to make up the numbers.

However Jaden still hadn't found their main base or had any success identifying their leader or backers, hence today's conference. Normally he only had meetings with the 3 strip families as most business was covered there, this would be the first meeting of all New Vegas' settlements.

Swank, the new boss of the Chairmen, was first to arrive. He'd been Jaden's staunch supporter following Benny's untimely demise at his hands. He was followed swiftly by Marjorie of the White Gloves. She too had become very fond of their new chief for ridding them of Mortimer and his cannibal ways whilst keeping it all under wraps. Cachino, the Omerta leader, was the last of the big 3 to show. Jaden had never fully trusted him but he had to give credit where it was due. Cachino had kept his promise to run a clean ship at Gomorrah and the girls there enjoyed a much better working life than they had under Big Sal and Nero. Of course there were other reasons all of the big 3 respected Jaden: namely he wasn't House and certainly wouldn't look the other way like he used to do. He'd purged all their houses violently once and they'd no doubt he'd do it again if he thought it necessary.

"Isn't this everyone, boss?" Cachino asked once he'd sat down at the table.

"Not today. Every settlement and faction is sending someone."  
"Rexie!"

"Speaking of which..." Jaden looked up to see the King getting off the elevator with Julie Farkas. The two were enduring a friendly greeting from his old cybernetic dog.

"Looking good, Jaden."  
"You too, King. How's things in Freeside? Still rough?"

"I won't lie, it's getting ugly. I'm having to put the boys on double shifts to keep the peace. "

"It's causing a bigger drain on our meds too," Julie pitched in. She'd had to treat a lot more injuries since the number of street brawls had gone up.

"I'll get onto Happy Trails and start some more scavenging runs," Jaden promised.

Elder Mcnamara was the next out of the elevator. He'd had problems within his chapter on his decision to attend and become part of the New Vegas government but he'd run roughshod over those objections. Jaden had shielded the Brotherhood from outside aggressors and was the best bet to keep the NCR out as far as Mcnamara was concerned.

Johnson Nash, Raquel, Sunny Smiles and Cliff Briscoe had never dreamed they'd end up in Vegas never mind in the Lucky 38. It was hard believing the same courier they'd met just three or so months back was now de facto ruler here.

"Just two more?" Boone had been counting them in.

"Two of the most interesting, yeah," Jaden admitted. "Veronica should be fetching Sarah about now."  
Three minutes later Veronica arrived with a blond girl in a vault jumpsuit, actually she was guiding her as she was blindfolded.

"Okay Sarah, you can take it off," Veronica advised. "You're in the 38 now."

A relieved Sarah Weintraub pulled off her blindfold and she was welcomed in by an equally relieved Jaden. He'd had to use all of his persuasion skills to get her out of her precious Vault and a blindfold to get past her fear of open spaces.

"Nice pad, Jaden."  
"My great big Vault in the sky," Jaden agreed whilst suppressing a smile. That was how he'd had to describe his home to get her out here. "Have a seat."

"Just Jacobstown's representative now," Arcade said with some worry.

Jaden shared that. "Let's hope he doesn't cause too much of a panic and everyone here can handle him."

"Handle who?" Julie couldn't help asking.

The elevator doors opened again producing a gasp of shock as they got the answer.

"Glad you could make it Marcus," Jaden greeted the huge first gen Super Mutant.

Marcus smiled. "Likewise my friend. When we first met I had a feeling that you'd be doing great things, good to see I wasn't mistaken."

"Hope you didn't have too much trouble getting in."

"Got a few stares but no more than that. You did take Lily into the Strip before so I didn't expect to get trouble given I'm just visiting."

Jaden turned back to the rest of his guests. "And before I get any smart ass comments the first guy that gives any gets thrown out on their ass! Marcus is older and wiser than all of us, he's the mayor of Jacobstown and he and his mutants provide a lot of our Brahmin and Bighorner meat. Clear?"

Seeing Jaden was dead serious everyone gave quick agreements as Marcus descended the stairs and took his place at the table.

Jaden quickly joined them at the table's head. "Now everyone's here let's get started. I know bringing everyone here is unusual and many would have rather had this meeting closer to home. But given what's happening lately I think you'll agree on the need for secrecy and security."

"Not a problem from where I'm sitting," Sunny replied. "The problem is those Patriot bastards."

"Couldn't have said that better myself," Cachino pitched in. "Are you sure that paper pushing weasel up at the embassy doesn't know anything?"

Jaden had kept the NCR embassy functioning after his takeover and Crocker was still assigned there. The only other change on the Strip was the human guards. The NCR military police had been replaced by Jaden's newly formed Vegas militia; trained by Boone and Jaden personally at McCarran airfield. They were small in number but more capable than Raiders and NCR grunts.

"Oddly enough yes I'm sure," Jaden answered. "Crocker and the NCR government aren't backing this; it's hurting their rep no end. Hell the last two attacks hurt them more than us."  
That earned a chuckle around the room. The caravans that Jaden was talking about had been carrying caps back to the NCR after they'd finished trading. Vegas ended up with the goods but the NCR ended up out of pocket thanks to their so called 'Patriots'.

"We still haven't found where these bastards are hitting from?" Cliff Briscoe chipped in.

Jaden shook his head. "No. They're not in Red Rock Canyon. That's been empty since the Kahns left. Somewhere in the south or outside the border is the best guess for now."

"We'll need to do more than guess soon," Swank warned. "Alright these guys aren't doing much more than irritating but the fact they're with the NCR is turning up the heat."  
"He's not wrong," the King agreed. "I just don't get these Patriots. All they're doing is making people more ornery at them and the NCR."  
"It does feel like desperation on someone's part. I've got some idea who," Jaden growled. "Alright, I'll send the militia down to Prim, Goodsprings and Novac until we find a way to put the Patriots in the hurt locker, just in case they get a little more ambitious."

"They probably will when they see their current tactics not working," Boone warned. "They're trying to get us to roll over whilst doing as little damage as possible so the NCR has something to take over."

"Won't happen," Sunny muttered with distaste. "They're no better than the gangers were. We're not going to cave in just because a few bastards with guns show their teeth and bark for it."  
There were murmurs of agreement all round.

Jaden turned to the King. "Do you think Freeside's going to be safe for the moment even with all this going on?"  
"It's tough but I think we can handle it."

"If you need militia or Securitron backup just say the word. How about you Marcus?"  
"I don't see that we need it, not yet anyway. We'll stay vigilant."  
"We'll just have to hope we get a lucky break the next time they pop their heads up. Now how's the reclamation of Vault 3 going?"

As they turned to other matters little did anyone know that Jaden's wish was about to be granted in full...

**Vegas trade caravan- SE of Novac**

Rose of Sharon Cassidy, Cass to most, was not having a good month. It had started off pretty well; she'd jumped at the chance to restart her caravan business again after the Crimson Caravan and Van Graff conspiracy fell apart. On their departure a lot of the Crimson employees, feeling disgusted and betrayed by Alice's duplicity, quit and joined Cass in her new venture as she'd inherited the Crimson compound and the Silver Rush after both disgraced companies cleared out.

Since then the luck had changed course drastically with the Patriot problem. Her caravans had been the primary targets and they'd lost a lot of people and goods over the last 2 weeks. The only silver lining was that the Patriots weren't an entirely professional force: that much was obvious in the last 2 attacks where they'd hit NCR property instead of theirs. It sickened Cass that this was all being done in the name of her country; the NCR she'd known and lived under would never have sanctioned this. She and Boone had gone out of their way to persuade Jaden that the NCR could still be a good ally; something like this going on set their case back god knows how far.

"You ok Cass? You seem out of it." Cass was jerked out of her thoughts by the voice of Mary, one of her top caravaneers and friends.

"Just frustrated, that's all. Uh, where are we?"

"We're just coming up to the fork to Clark Field and we'll soon be in Novac."  
Cass sighed in relief. Despite this being one of the safest runs around, Nelson to Novac, any caravan trip was a risk nowadays.

"Well don't let yourself get too distracted or..."  
Mary's head suddenly exploded, sending a spray of blood and brains all over Cass as Mary's body crumpled onto her, she lost her balance and fell to the ground under the weight. Cass knew her friend had been sniped from behind but was trapped under her body and couldn't push it off. She certainly couldn't reach her shotgun or even move.

The other 3 caravan guards had been picked off easily by similar sniper shots from over the ridge, leaving just the Brahmin and cart untouched. Cass was working her way out from under the body and wondering just where the Securitron patrol in this area was.

"Hahahaha!"  
She looked up to see 4 men in Patriot uniform emerging from what had been the old Viper encampment.

"If you're looking for your tin robots they're back there," the red haired leader sniggered as he held up a pulse gun. "Go get the cart. We'll take the stuff with us this time."

As his three friends hurried away he stood over the fallen Cass.

"Pity you decided to turn your back on your own country, Miss Cassidy."

Cass snorted in contempt as she saw a crudely drawn bear on his military green armour. "Look who's talking! You're no better than the Fiends, you fucking whisky dick!"

At that the man lost all his pleasantry. "Well fuck you! I was going to take you alive, ransom you off and make you comfortable while I did..."  
He was cut off by the huge wad of spit that Cass spat at him.

"Fine, your loss! I guess your hero boss will just have to grieve over your corpse...uggh!"  
For the second time he was cut off, but this time by the bullet from behind that slammed through his throat. Blood spurted out of the gaping wound as he crashed to the floor.

Cass couldn't see any shooter; she knew he was using a silencer as she'd heard no shot and that meant...

One of the other Patriots, preoccupied with looking through the cart, seemed to freeze up on his feet for a second before a river of blood spewed from him also. His throat had been cut. Cass had to look hard but she just managed to see the shimmering, rippling 'ghost' releasing his victim before somehow jumping clean over the cart and out of her view. Not that she needed it; the screams of terror were all anyone needed.

"Jesus Christ what the fuck are you...ARRRRGGGGH!"

That was followed by an ear rending CRACK and a gurgling that soon died away leaving eerie silence. Cass finally managed to lever the body off and got back on her feet. Hefting her shotgun she moved warily around the cart. Even she wasn't prepared for what awaited her.

Both the other Patriots were dead, needless to say, but it was how they'd been killed that stunned Cass. One's head had been smashed in, quite literally, on the cart. He'd been slammed into it so hard his skull had shattered on impact. The other had choked to death due to his Adam's apple being crushed.

"Cass!"

"Justin! Thank god," Cass hurried over to the only surviving caravaneer feeling very guilty. He was new, only 17 years old, and she'd brought him in on this thinking it would be a milk run. Now he was shot in the arm and covered in blood, not all of it his.

"Where'd he go?"

"Did you see who it was?" Half of Cass wanted to thank their rescuer. The other half wanted to run as far away as she could seeing what he was capable of.

"Only for a few seconds," Justin gushed. "He was dressed all in black, head covered too, I couldn't see his face. I didn't want to either...shit." Justin was choking back bile looking at the gory scene around him.  
"Take it easy," Cass eased him up onto his feet and passed him some water.

"Thanks." He downed the whole bottle. "They never stood a chance. He smashed one guy's head in and then kicked that poor bastard straight in the throat. Just stood there and watched him die. I thought he was going to do me too. I tried to play dead but instead he jammed this in my arm."

He passed Cass a spent stimpak. She quickly looked around down both ways on the road and on the hills. Nothing. _This guy gets in at the last minute and then takes out four armed men in under a minute, three of them by hand?_

Other than Jaden she couldn't think of anyone capable of such a thing and he was nowhere near Novac right now.

"Do you require assistance?" Cass was jerked out of her thoughts by a single Securitron that had arrived from Novac's direction.

"Yeah. Go back to Novac and get some more men out here. We're gonna need a lot of help with this mess!" Cass barked.

As the Securitron wheeled away Cass went over to comfort the unhurt but scared pack Brahmin. So much for a milk run. She took another wary look around. She was grateful to be still alive but she doubted they'd seen the last of this mysterious warrior, not by a long shot.

Little did she know it but said warrior was still watching her from the nearby hilltop. He was still stealthed of course so there was no risk. He waited around long enough to see that help arrived and then moved north. He would have stayed to do it himself but keeping a low profile was paramount. No one here had any idea what was coming. It would make Hoover Dam look like a minor annoyance...


	2. California Blues

Thanks for all the reviews and DN506 for some excellent ideas. I get the main message and agree with it: after the Big Empty the Courier is practically a cyborg in his own right anyway.

Oddliver: hope I meet your expectations on this one. I'll try and make it better.

Eaglescorch: Nice to know I have one diehard fan. Keep writing yourself, you have the talent.

Ok, part 2 is the NCR pov. It seems they have problems of their own...

**NCR congress- Shady Sands**

It was proving an interesting time for newly elected Senator Hanlon. He'd never thought he'd end up a politician, if someone had told him a year ago that he'd be part of Congress he'd have laughed at the idea. He had been a soldier first and foremost after all. However the events of the last 5 years had convinced him otherwise; especially the last one.

He'd been worried sick about the course of the NCR since the first battle of Hoover Dam. They'd only won that by the skin of their teeth thanks to some quick thinking by the Rangers and 1st Recon yet Congress, Kimball and Oliver had strutted around for god knows how long after that as if they'd won complete victory. There was no doubt in Hanlon's mind that the second battle would have been outright defeat if not for the Courier and his allies. If fact they were the sole reason that many of his Rangers had come home at all. Oliver's foolish strategy had left them on the far side of the dam: if Jaden, the Brotherhood and the Boomers hadn't intervened when they did his Rangers would have been outflanked and caught at close quarters by the Legion Centurions and they'd have all been crucified on Hoover Dam's walls.

After the near disaster and subsequent withdrawal, Hanlon came to the conclusion that there was only one way forward. He went back to his home district of Maxson, tendered his resignation as Ranger chief and stood for election as a senator. He'd been half expecting to be defeated; instead he blew the incumbent away in a stunning reversal. No one had been more surprised than him. The expansionist faction had mounted an aggressive PR campaign blaming the Courier for his betrayal, Oliver and the army for not spotting it...anyone except themselves basically. It hadn't paid off. They'd completely misjudged the public's mood and depth of anger at the situation.

Attacking the Courier was their first big mistake. Although his takeover had taken many by surprise his subsequent actions soon made his intent more clear. He'd kept the NCR access to Hoover Dam and even lowered the price that House had charged them for using it. He'd kept and built on existing caravan arrangements and promised to maintain the security of the NCR-Vegas border. The implication couldn't be clearer: despite denying them an annexation he wanted to be a friend of the NCR. Hanlon doubted Jaden had any idea of how much fame and popularity he'd got inside the NCR itself. 'Bringing the boys and girls home' had earned him the gratitude of a lot of families the whole country over. He'd provided peace with security: most felt safer with his country and Securitrons providing a good buffer zone between them and the Legion.

This pro-Courier sentiment, combined with the horror stories from the returning troops about the Legion and their atrocities, doomed most of the hawk senators and congressmen. Every one of their past promises and pronouncements was coming back to bite them in the ass. They'd promised a quick annexation of Hoover Dam and New Vegas; what they'd got was four years of futile warfare and then kicked out. They said the Legion was just a disorganised bunch of Raiders; the destruction of Nipton, the massacre of Camp Searchlight and the tales of both battles at the dam showed how much truth there was to that. To many, Oliver and his political allies had been caught with their pants down and everything on display.

Hanlon allowed himself a smile at that. Of everyone, Oliver was in the most trouble. Kimball, although he was taking a lot of flak for his leadership in all this, still had two more years before the next presidential election came up and could still theoretically turn his fortunes around. Oliver had no such luxury; everyone was turning on him. His political allies had either been voted out of office or were now being the fair weather friends they'd always been and had left him hanging out to dry. The military was being even more ruthless; the sore truth was that very few in the army liked 'wait and see' Oliver and many were relishing this situation. A committee of officers were reviewing and pulling apart the Vegas campaign; ostensibly looking to see what lessons could be learned from it. All of Oliver's command decisions were looked over, this time with much more objective and jaded eyes, and his performance was found extremely wanting. Even though the Legion had been driven off on both battles it was the view of the committee that the Rangers had bailed Oliver out the first time and the Courier the second.

All this wasn't a pretty sight and could be considered cruel, this Hanlon knew. But the critics, harsh as they were, were right. Oliver had finally been shown up as the one trick pony he was as he'd relied too much on numbers all the time. Against the Brotherhood this had been the right thing. Against the Legion, who probably outnumbered the NCR at least 3 to 1, it was an utter disaster.

Hanlon also had no doubt that most of the 'waiting and seeing' they'd done over the last four years hadn't been for the Republic's benefit or the army's but solely for Oliver. From what rumours he'd heard throughout the Congress, Oliver had been forming a lot of backdoor alliances. Likely he'd aimed to sure up a political base, win the battle at Hoover Dam and come out a hero who could run for President after.

Well that amateurish strategy was now in ruins. That was the problem with plans like that; they relied too much on the other players doing exactly what you wanted them to do and dancing to your tune. The Legion, House and the Courier all had other melodies in mind so between them Oliver's designs had been undone and now he was facing forced retirement and disgrace. A beep from his office intercom derailed his train of thought.

"Senator, Colonels Hsu and Moore are here to see you."

"Thank you. Send them in!"

A minute later the former commanders of Camp McCarran and Hoover Dam entered his office.

Hanlon smiled. "Thank you for coming at such short notice."

"No problem. What did you want to see us about?" Hsu's curiosity had overridden his caution about meeting a senator despite Oliver's likely demise.

"Yes. Are you seeing both of us and the other 4 who might be replacing General Oliver?" Moore had a lot of respect for Hanlon as she was an ex-Ranger and had served under him once. Now he was a politician, however, that did alter things somewhat.

"It's nothing like that I can assure you, "Hanlon replied seriously. "I need your help. Both of you that is. The Republic is in grave trouble."

Both Colonels exchanged confused looks as Hanlon had them sit down at a table where he had two large dossiers laid out. One was in an unmarked red file. The other was marked Jaden Storm.

"I take it this concerns the Courier?" Hsu guessed as he pointed at the files.

"Well yes and no," Hanlon said cryptically as he grabbed the red file first and then a bottle of scotch. He poured three glasses and then set the file in front of them before handing out a drink each. "Drink those and then read the one page summary that's just inside the file."

"Uh...what?" Moore, for once, was at a total loss and so was Hsu.

"Just do it."  
Hsu shrugged and downed his scotch before opening the file...and ended up nearly spewing half of it back out as he read the summary.

"What is it?" Moore asked in concern.

A spluttering Hsu quickly passed her the paper. She gasped and went sheet white as she read through it. "Is this accurate? It can't be!"  
"I'm afraid it is. We are verging on collapse, and if that file gets to the general public it will certainly happen."  
Hsu recovered himself. "So what can we do? Why did you ask us here?"  
Hanlon calmly sipped his scotch as he explained. "What I need is help stabilising the situation. The first step is shooting down the latest damn fool idea from Caldwell this afternoon."  
Both Colonels nodded in agreement knowing this was going to come up. Senator Horace Caldwell was now the leader of the remaining expansionist faction in Congress. He'd only been re-elected by the thinnest of margins too which, in Hanlon's view, should have given him a little common sense. It certainly hadn't as the first thing he'd done on re-entering Congress had been to propose a blockade on New Vegas, hoping to force the Courier into accepting annexation. To all three in the room he was a fool of the worst kind and a symbol of everything that was wrong with the NCR lately.

"Does he actually think his crap will work?" Hsu asked in disbelief. "With this Patriot business going on all this is likely to do is piss New Vegas off even more."  
"My intelligence says it won't," Hanlon agreed. "The Courier's not dependent on the NCR for most things. He's got new routes into Utah with Happy Trails caravans and a group called the New Canaanites. Between local Brahmin, Bighorners and those connections he's got food and the basics pretty much covered. And since when did Heck Gunderson pay much attention to the Congress? He's likely to ignore the blockade altogether and he despises Caldwell."

Moore nodded. "And from what you just told us it's likely to do the NCR more damage than Vegas."

"Exactly." Hanlon passed another piece of paper over to Hsu. "So what I need is a good case to shoot Caldwell down. My faction has the numbers and I've no doubt we'll knock out his bill, but what we need is to win the argument too. So convincingly that this will never be proposed again. I've arranged a meeting with some of the neutral senators this afternoon. It would be helpful if you could get all the personnel on that list to attend also."

Hsu knew what Hanlon was aiming for as he read through the list. "I think I can arrange that."

"What about me? What's my part in this?" Moore's face was knotted with concern.

"I need you to draw up a shortlist of candidates for an infiltration mission into New Vegas. It's imperative we find out more about these 'Patriots' as soon as possible." Hanlon spat the Patriots word with real distaste and no one was in any doubt as to how he felt about them.

"So that we find them before the Courier does?" Moore guessed.

"Or get some solid evidence so we can eliminate their backers here," Hanlon said coldly. "There's no doubt they have them, we learnt that in the New Year and we're still trying to make sure all our other Vertibirds are accounted for."

Moore nodded. "Why do you need me to pick someone? Wouldn't the Rangers be better suited for a job like this?"

"They would normally but Chief Koenig doesn't want to go that route. He's been digging around quietly and he's afraid that the Patriots may have taps inside the Congress and the government. We don't want them knowing what we're up to so we're doing it unofficially and off the records. Whoever gets chosen will be put on leave."

Hsu got to his feet. "I'll go and get the ball rolling on this meeting and get everyone together. We should be ready by late this afternoon if that's good?"

Hanlon nodded that it was.

"I suppose I'd better get back to base and get things moving there," Moore sighed as she got up to go.

"Cassandra," Hanlon could tell something was off with his old teammate and subordinate. "I can tell this doesn't sit right with you. If you want to object then now's the time."

"Now that you've shown me the truth I can't object. It's just working with the same person who betrayed us..."  
"I'd be more careful before bandying that language about," Hanlon warned. "I don't recall the day Jaden Storm swore an oath of loyalty to the NCR, do you?"  
Moore cursed mentally as she knew Hanlon had a point. It was easy to forget that the Courier had come to them as a very helpful freelance agent. She, and many others in the NCR, had just _assumed _they had him in their camp permanently...until events at Hoover Dam proved otherwise.

"No I don't," she painfully admitted.

"Well there you are. You might feel a little differently when you see the Courier's reasons for doing as he did. This is the first."

Hanlon opened Jaden's file and pulled out a photograph of Veronica.

"Who is she?"  
"Veronica Santangelo. Brotherhood Scribe and long close friend of the Courier."  
Moore groaned as the realisation hit her. It had been after she'd given Jaden instructions to take out the Mojave Brotherhood that he seemed to get cold feet. Small wonder given this information.

Hanlon passed her another note. "And then there's this. It could be said that what he did at Hoover Dam was payment for services rendered...at a place called Bitter Springs."

**NCR embassy-The Strip**

Ambassador Crocker was going through fifty different flavours of headache. His problems, and those of the Republic, seemed to have multiplied over the last month. Things had initially gone well after the Courier's takeover. Jaden had made it plain that he wanted to stay friends with the NCR if at all possible and Crocker had been only too happy to go with that sentiment, particularly as he had been staring at heavily armed Securitrons at the time.

They'd eventually agreed that the NCR could keep its embassy open provided tourists still came, caravan and trade routes would be maintained and New Vegas would provide a buffer between NCR territory and the Legion's. It was rocky going at first, particularly back home. A lot of the pre election Congress hadn't been happy. Some of the fools had even tried to summon the Courier to a committee of inquiry in the NCR capital, stupidly thinking it was going to intimidate him. All that had done was get a big laugh out of Jaden when Crocker had told him.

Once he'd calmed down though, Jaden's reply was rather blunt. "I've got a new nation and its people to look after. I certainly haven't got time to leave it and deal with a bunch of spoiled brats in suits; anyway I'm not NCR and don't answer to them. If they want to complain then they can come and do it in my office here." Funnily enough, none of the 'spoiled brats' ever did so.

The following Congress elections back home cleared out most of the fools and made way for cooler and wiser heads. Many new congressmen had copied Hanlon's tactics, campaigning on 'home and reconstruction first' platforms and easily trounced most of their opponents.

Since then relations had become far less cordial, however, with the start of this Patriot business. That they had NCR connections was now abundantly clear, the shot down Vertibird and the equipment confiscated from some of their dead proved it beyond doubt. As did the latest revelation: one of the latest four Patriots to be killed, the one who nearly killed Cass, was a serving NCR captain. That had earned him yet another ass kicking from Jaden.

"Damn it Ambassador, this is the eighth attack in as many weeks now; 3 guards and 1 caravaneer lost. The other one shit scared out of his mind; Cass had to force feed him four whiskies to get him over it. Can't you lot keep track of any of your people?"

"Only when they're on duty," Crocker sighed. "He was listed as on leave. We're trying our best Jaden, believe me. This is causing us huge political damage. I got a message from Ambassador Goyle the other day; she was the one negotiating with the settlements in Oregon. Suffice it to say they've suddenly gone off the idea of joining us too."

Jaden guessed word must have reached Oregon through the courier and caravan grapevine. Being under suspicion of state sponsored terrorism wouldn't have done wonders for the NCR's appeal. Not that Jaden thought the Shady Sands government held much blame; he personally trusted Crocker and saw him as a friend; a man like him would have nothing to do with this. Nor would Kimball or most of his cronies come to that.

"I understand. I sympathise. But frankly I don't care! You think you've got problems? Try coming up to Freeside and see how that's doing nowadays!"

Crocker knew the truth of those words too. Despite their best efforts, the King and Jaden hadn't been able to stem the renewed and rising violence against NCR citizens lately. With people losing friends and loved ones in these Patriot attacks the resentment and anger was a hell of a lot deeper and almost impossible to cure. It was like trying to hold back the tide with buckets and spades.

"I personally believe you," Jaden went on. "We wouldn't be having this conversation if I didn't. But the bottom line is I can only cover you for so long. It's only a matter of time before word of NCR soldiers being involved gets out on the street."

Crocker gave his best apologetic look. "I know. But I can't tell you what I don't know about; I can promise we'll investigate fully at our end just like you're doing here."  
"Better pray one of us gets a break then," Jaden said coolly. "I figure we've got 2 weeks, 3 tops, before things go south and I lose control. At the last cabinet meeting I barely managed to talk Cachino and Swank out of some rash action shall we say? The rest of them are losing patience too. We've got to crack this somehow or there'll be consequences...ones neither of us will much enjoy. See you later, Ambassador."

Frankly Crocker was amazed the peace had lasted this long. In spite of being the butt of many a joke by the NCR military he wasn't the fool they believed him to be. Just being a diplomat didn't mean he was naive: far from it. He prided himself on seeing the big picture and right now that seemed pretty bleak. The Courier was a friend of the NCR, of that Crocker was in no doubt. Whilst he hadn't supported them fully he still believed in their ideals: the problem was a lot of his provisional government was another story. They ranged from indifferent to outright hostile. So what happened if Jaden Storm was swept aside or forced to cave in to popular opinion? Nothing good that was for sure.

He quickly opened up his papers and started writing another urgent cable home. All he could hope for is that someone was still awake back there. If not the NCR's future could be non-existent...


	3. Plots and plans

Nice being on a roll for once. For the violence and blood fans sorry about the lack of it so far, but as I said there's a lot of background to do. NV has more factions and players than the Capital Wasteland.

Oddliver: Very true. The NCR is in big trouble and that hole is about to get bigger!

eaglescorch: To answer your question I haven't played through for awhile but I think that depends on your actions at the Strip. If you stop the Omertas and their chemical attack then the Strip stays undamaged and the Legion can only cause a minor disturbance there (which is put down). If not then yes, the embassy and most of the population goes down.

ejthepinoy: What can I say except thanks a lot! I try my best.

As ever if anyone's got ideas/preferences let me know. Now for more NCR woes and the first appearance of the Legion...

**NCR Congress-Shady Sands**

It was now late afternoon and Colonel Cassandra Moore was hurrying back to attend Hanlon's meeting. She got back to a conference room that was already pretty full, mostly of NCR military personnel, and scanned the faces. All of 1st Recon, Major Dhatri, Lieutenant Hayes, Rangers Jackson and Ghost, Major Polatli, Ranger Grant...

All of them were different ranks and from various bases and posts in Vegas. Then it struck her what they all had in common: the Courier; he'd helped them all out of various jams and problems in the last few months. She was starting to see what Hanlon had in mind.

"Good to see everyone made it. Grab a seat; we've got a lot to get through." Hanlon entered the room behind her with 3 other grey suited men and the new Chief of the Rangers. He was 35, young for his new position, but the inexperience ended there. Chris Koenig had been in countless battles with Raiders and the Legion and had the scars to prove it as the eye patch over his left eye showed. Word was he'd beaten a Legionary to death with his bare hands once. Looking at his muscles and cold appearance Moore could easily believe it. Ironically she ended up sitting next to him with Colonel Hsu on her other side at the grand table in the room.

Hanlon and his three senator guests sat down at the head of the table. "Thank you for making yourselves available at such short notice; sorry for pulling many of you away from your leave time. But we are facing a grave crisis and have to respond quickly. "  
"No kidding," Major Dhatri snorted. "I think you'll find that most in this room aren't keen on going back into the same warzone we only left a month ago."  
"Aren't you jumping the gun, Major?" the youngest senator, Ron Williams, piped up. "Caldwell's only calling for a trade embargo with his bill. He was sure it won't lead to war. In fact he was confident New Vegas would fold and start negotiating with us in under a month."

All that earned at first was a collection of exasperated grunts and contemptuous snorts around the room before Major Polatli spoke up in reply. "With respect Senator, in the military we keep our fantasising to our private lives and not in the field. That is wishful thinking of the worst kind."

Moore spoke up for the first time. "I'd have to agree there, Senators. The Courier has faced down the worst the Legion had to offer at Hoover Dam, including Legate Lanius himself. It will take more than a little posturing to frighten him. A lot more."

"Is it true he faced Lanius _one on one_ at the dam site?" Private Ackerman had been an awestruck fan of the Courier since he'd sprung her and Private Gilbert from the clutches of the Great Kahns at Boulder City.

"He did...and Lanius lost," Hsu replied bluntly.

"That guy killed god knows how many troopers over the last four years?" Lieutenant Hayes was at a loss. "It seems impossible to believe anyone could bring him down alone."

"If you think that's impossible you should have been at Camp McCarran," Dhatri spoke up again. "I was struggling with three leaders of the Fiends. In less than a week they're history courtesy of Jaden Storm. Those guys take out over 20 of our grunts between them; he brings them down alone and then just bails out like he had a caravan to catch."  
"Not to mention he took out Motor Runner on his own home ground after that," Hsu informed them.

"He helped prop up Camp Forlorn Hope and Bitter Springs, he turns the Misfits into something resembling an elite unit at Camp Golf, not to mention he drove the Legion out of Nelson," Polatli added.

"Bottom line: I think you'll find Senator Caldwell's bill has little favour in the army," Hsu informed them bluntly. "The Courier is not someone we want as an enemy and everyone knows Caldwell's just trying to look for a pretext to send us back into New Vegas. Not that this would provide that anyway."

"As I already told you he has alternative trade routes in place," Hanlon backed Hsu up before grimacing and pulling out the red file he had with him. "And there are other problems; the main one simply being we can't afford it." He pulled out the same piece of paper he'd shown Hsu and Moore earlier in the day.

Hsu saw him hesitate. Both he and Moore knew that Hanlon shouldn't have shown it to them, nor anyone else in the room come to that.

"Sir, everyone here is sworn to secrecy. Colonel Moore and I made sure of that."

"What does he mean?" Senator Williams couldn't help asking.

Hanlon sighed before passing the paper to Williams first who quickly scanned through it and had to use all of his willpower not to keel over and pass out.

"Holy Mary, mother of God," Williams gasped.

The other two senators and the rest of the room were in the same state by the time the paper had passed all the way around the room. It was, in fact, a secret report on the NCR's finances with most of the raw figures and hot air cut out and not meant for public disclosure. For very good reason too. The NCR had a crippling national debt of over 100 million caps, most of it to the Gun Runners and other arms suppliers. If all this were to be called in overnight...well there wouldn't be an NCR by morning.

"I knew this war would cost us," Polatli finally managed to get out. "But how the hell did this happen?"

"Five words, Major," Hanlon replied without a trace of humour. "General Oliver. Lack of oversight."

Hsu took over from there. "All the money went into overspending on arms and ammo, wasted ventures in Vegas like that moron Mr Fantastic at Helios One, food, water, redeployments...well I could keep going all day. Oliver thought we could do everything in Vegas and we ended up achieving almost nothing."

"How come it's been kept secret? I thought something like this would have come out by now," Hayes asked with a confused expression.

"Unlike the Van Graffs and their ilk, the Gun Runners aren't fools. They know what would happen to the NCR if this went public," Hanlon explained. "Between President Kimball, myself and other government officials we managed to cut a deal with them. The economic situation stays private and we get the time to get the Republic back on its feet."

"But there were conditions I take it?" Hsu guessed.

"Yes. No more expansionist adventures and definitely no hostile action on New Vegas. The Courier's a big customer of theirs and he's made a big impression on them too. It's the Gun Runners' view that the Courier and his trade routes are a vital step toward rebuilding the Republic. I have to say I agree with them. Unlike us he still has a trade surplus and he's got access to routes we can't touch."  
Williams nodded. "I think I can get behind that. The only problem I can see is, well can we trust the Courier after what happened at Hoover Dam? That'll be on a lot of people's minds especially in the Congress."  
"The Courier has gone out of his way to re-establish relations with us," Hanlon pointed out.

"If he really wanted to fuck us all he'd have to do is kick out our extension cord at Hoover Dam," Dhatri pointed out. "And if we don't get this Patriot situation under control he still might."

That brought the meeting to a grim end. Williams and the other neutral senators seemed to have been brought around; all three pledged to oppose Caldwell's bill and urge others to do the same. Hsu and Moore followed Hanlon back to his office along with Chief Koenig for a follow up meeting.

"Here's the candidate I chose," Moore passed a service file over to Koenig and Hanlon. Her choice earned raised eyebrows from both of them.

"Are you sure about this?" Koenig asked. "I've heard she went through more hell than most at Hoover Dam, not to mention the events at homecoming..."

"Yes I know," Moore admitted. "But this assignment hopefully won't involve the Legion and should get her away from her home problems. I believe in her."

Koenig nodded. "Fair enough, Colonel. I'll call her in and brief her myself. You draw up her leave papers."

**Lucky 38- Presidential Suite**

Dr Usanagi closed the master bedroom door behind her leaving a sleeping Jaden Storm behind with ED-E watching over him, only to find the concerned quartet of Arcade, Cass, Veronica and Boone waiting for her.

"How's he doing, Doc?" Cass asked first.

"Apart from obvious overwork, he's fine physically. On the other fronts however..."  
Arcade sighed. "Still no luck with recovering more of his memories then?"  
Usanagi shook her head. "We've tried every memory retrieval technique there is, including regressive hypnosis, but I think the damage is just too bad."

"Then where did the flip out on Boone at Bitter Springs come from?" Veronica asked, causing a wince in Boone's otherwise stoic expression. That was still a painful memory for him.

"Traumatic events leave a lasting impression and can get buried real deep in the psyche, which isn't always a good thing; though it might be in this case given from what we heard happened in the Divide."

"No doubt Ulysses was hoping he'd have another reaction there," Boone guessed. "That he'd remember carrying our package."

The NCR had been partly to blame for the massacre at the Divide. They'd sent what they thought was simply an ordinary electronic gadget to the Hopeville base. But the package was, in fact, an ED-E copy. One that had sent an automatic activator signal to the nuclear silos once it was brought fully online and several of the missiles detonated underground, resulting in the Divide as it was now. Ulysses probably hoped luring Jaden back would stir some memory but that hadn't happened; Jaden didn't even remember his previous time in Hopeville or Ashton even now.

"The _NCR_ sent that detonator there?" Veronica was incredulous.

"I called in some favours back home and found out. They didn't know at the time what it was, though with hindsight they should have checked," Boone snorted.

"I don't think there was any way they could have known," Arcade tried to be fair. "But you're right; they shouldn't have sent it blind. Anyway is there anything else we can do for him?"  
"Persuade him to work less?" Usanagi offered. All she got in reply was heavy sighs and eye rolling. "Yes, I thought so. Well, just try and get him to take it easier."

"I suppose the only other thing we can do is end some of his problems; like those damned Patriots," Arcade suggested as Usanagi left in the elevator.

"Any ideas how, genius?" Cass asked.

Veronica slyly grinned. "Actually yeah. One I came up with and Jaden went with it. Raul and Marcus are headed up to Black Mountain now to get it going."  
"The radio antennas?" Boone guessed.

Veronica nodded. "And the radar set-up we've got going up there. Jaden set it up for the Brotherhood as an early warning system. What we're going to do is put a link system in to the one here at the 38 and Marcus will have some of his people, well smarter mutants, man it. The Patriots will have a much harder time doing anything if we can see them coming in any Vertibirds, or if their communications get tapped."

Both Cass and Boone nodded their approval as their informal talk broke up. Cass followed Veronica into the side bedroom; they had a 'side project' going that they didn't want any of the others to know about. Namely to set up Jaden with a girl or two. It had seemed a good idea of Veronica's at first but soon it became apparent that it was going to be like getting blood out of a stone. Jaden was no stranger to girls; he'd got to know Sarah Weintraub, Gomorrah's old star girl Joana and Red Lucy of the Thorn very intimately. Since he'd taken charge, however, Jaden didn't seem to stop working at all and didn't give dating very much thought.

"Ok, so did you talk to Cachino? Did he say yes?" Cass asked impatiently.

"Yes I did. The answer's yes but it might as well be no," Veronica muttered in reply.

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?"

Veronica had gone over to Gomorrah to try and strike a private arrangement with Cachino but it hadn't gone to plan. Cachino shot her idea down but not how she expected.

"Listen doll, for what the boss has done for me already I'd pull all my girls and guys into Zoara and give him an orgy for free," he'd explained. "Only one small problem: he hasn't been through my door since we nailed Big Sal and Nero and I'm not expecting him anytime soon. What you want to give him I ain't exactly got."

"I thought you had plenty," Veronica managed to fire back. She was astonished at Cachino's words and the revelation that Jaden didn't frequent Gomorrah at all. She knew a lot of wastelanders who would jump at the chance.

"If it was a quick fuck and away he was after we'd be laughing but we both know it ain't and the girls here aren't big on full relationships." Cachino knew that wasn't 100% true. Joana certainly had been and she'd run out on the Omertas with a little help from Jaden if the rumours were right. "I'll tell you what. If you get him through those doors he can have whoever and whatever he wants in the private company department. How you do that is up to you. Sound fair?"

Veronica knew that was the best she would get. Cass was fuming in frustration when she heard the news; Cachino was right and infuriatingly so.

"Oh man! He's the King of New Vegas for Christ's sake! He should be using what's between his legs every night!"

Veronica couldn't help but laugh at Cass's crude as ever language. "Jaden's not like that. He doesn't have one night stands with girls then dump them. But you're right; he could do with losing some pressure and getting laid."

"Yeah, but we're back to square one," Cass sighed.

Veronica matched her sigh. "To be fair I think we both knew this wasn't going to be easy. He's a workaholic courier, doesn't stay in one place or put down many roots and he's looking after a new country which is under attack from a bunch of losers claiming to fight for the NCR. Take one or all of the above and let's face it: getting him with any girl's kind of a mountain to climb!"

"Doesn't mean we're giving up, right?" Cass smiled at Veronica.

"Not a chance! We'll just have to be patient. We have to get lucky sometime, and then so will Jaden!"

**Flagstaff, Legion Capital-Arizona **

Flagstaff was a hideous place; physically it was much like the Pitt and had the air of cruelty about it from a distance. There were a few differences though; there was not so much in the way of toxic industrial pollution or mutations here but that was more than made up for by the Legion bull banners and crucified victims at the road junctions. A lot more would be added soon since the triumphal return of the new Legate Vulpes Inculta. A small rebellion had arisen against the Legion in its eastern territories, what had once been Colorado and New Mexico. A mishmash of rebels, all from different tribes, seized what they thought was a great opportunity for freedom with the bulk of the Legion in the west fighting the NCR. But the group ended up being nearly all chiefs and no Indians, so to speak; they lacked any sort of cohesion and tactical planning. So when Jaden ousted the Legion from Hoover Dam and they'd returned in full force Vulpes and Lucius had little trouble wasting them. It had been more of an exercise than a real war.

All of which just meant that the new Legate and Caesar made their marks on their respective jobs and were pretty much secured and another mass crucifixion which Vulpes knew he'd have to arrange and supervise soon. He was currently looking through the mass of papers and messages on his desk in his command tent on the edge of the city. He didn't plan on staying long; there were rumblings of another rebellion in north Colorado and he had no doubt there would be more after that.

"Ave, Legate."

Gaius Varo, the new head of the Frumentarii, entered the tent with more dispatches. He was 25, young and inexperienced for his position, but his mind was as Machiavellian as Vulpes. It had been this sharp thinking that had kept him alive in the field and within the brutal Legion camps and what got him first to Decanus early and then to this position.

"Gaius, any interesting news?" Despite being Legate now Vulpes always kept in touch with the Legion's spy network. Information was power after all.

"A lot from the Mojave actually," Varo handed several messages over.

Vulpes' eyes almost popped out as he read them. "A militia claiming to back the profligates? Is this right?"

"Absolutely, Legate," Varo confirmed. "In fact, we know more about it than I suspect the Courier does at this point."

Even Vulpes was impressed at the amount of information they'd uncovered. A lot of the profligate senators were secretly backing the Patriots, including Caldwell himself. The Van Graffs were in on it too, that didn't surprise Vulpes in the least. He looked forward to the day when he nailed that whole clan of double crossing degenerates to crosses. But in spite of all this financial and equipment backing the Frumentarii considered their chances of success low.

"Chances of success low? Can you explain why that is, Gaius?"

"The quality of most of these Patriots is pitiful, Legate. Our newest legionaries are better than most of them. Despite having several profligate officers in their ranks they are poorly skilled and trained. For all their resources they are pathetic; the whole is _less_ than the sum of the parts," Gaius suddenly choked back a laugh as he handed over another dispatch. "And here's the reason why!"

To say that Vulpes was confused was an understatement. He could tell Varo was barely holding back a laughter fit. One look at the last message Varo handed him told him all.

"Hahaha...HAHAHAHA!" Vulpes wasn't as successful holding his laughter back and that was enough to send Varo over the edge and into a giggling fit.

The reason they were laughing was simple: the leader of the Patriots had been identified as none other than disgraced former General Lee Oliver.

"The leader of the profligate army reduced to this," Vulpes spluttered. "Fate certainly has a sense of irony. Surely the rest of the profligates must know of this?"  
Varo shook his head. "Most don't. Some of the more intelligent suspect, I'm sure. As does the Courier I'm sure of that. "  
Vulpes agreed with that assessment. Whatever else he might be, Jaden Storm was no fool and despite being an enemy of the Legion now he still had his uses. In fact this presented a golden opportunity...

"I find myself half hoping the Patriots will succeed," Varo was muttering. "If I had my way, I'd have Jaden Storm collared and sent to Decanus Honorius's tent. A pretty boy like that would fit right in!"

Vulpes smirked. Honorius was well known for his...animalistic same sex urges. Whilst that thought and others of petty revenge had their appeal his new idea required something else.

"Now, now, Gaius. Keep your attention on the big picture; we are Legion after all. This situation has given me an idea. Just hear me out before you rush to judgement."

Varo nodded as he heard Vulpes' plan. At first his face was indignant, then that changed to disbelieving and sceptic and finally finished in pure admiration.

"It's brilliant! Simple and brilliant."

Vulpes coldly smiled. "Sometimes you have to put personal feelings aside to win. Jaden Storm did hurt us, that is certain, and someday we'll make him answer for it. But his crimes are nothing compared to the actions of the profligate NCR. They think they've heard the last of us for a few years and they are very much mistaken. If this works we will have vengeance on them at last and the Courier will be the instrument."  
"I must admit, that is far more appealing," Varo agreed. "But we'll need Caesar's approval. Perhaps we should talk to Tigellinus first. If we can convince him and then have all 3 of us propose this...?"

Aphonius Tigellinus was Lucius' old friend and now the new head of the Praetorian Guard. What Varo said made sense, Vulpes knew. Unlike Lanius he wasn't a mindless brute and was open to persuasion; and that both Vulpes and Varo excelled at.

"I agree. No time like the present. Get ready to send out more couriers, Gaius. When the plan is approved we'll have much to do."  
Vulpes could hardly wait. The Mojave was still dancing to the tune of war and chaos; that much was obvious. The dance routine was about to change, and it would be interesting to see if all its participants would be quick enough to learn its new steps. Somehow he doubted it...


	4. The best laid plans

Ok, with this part most of the new cast introductions are done and I can start with the real plot (and the blood starts getting spilled for the violence fans!)

Kingoftheplankton: Glad to hear I'm doing something right. I fully intend to finish this and in quicker time than the last fic.

Oddliver: nice ideas but vacations are going to be few and far between with what's coming.

Thanks for all the reviews/favs/ideas everyone! Keep them coming; my urge for writing's up and I'm beating the dreaded block for once!

**Jacobstown-next day**

The last 12 hours had been almost complete chaos for Corporal Ashley Gordon, Colonel Moore's chosen mission candidate. She hadn't been expecting any more active duty for over a month; instead she'd been bundled into the office of Chief Koenig and given a 'top-secret mission vital to the survival of the Republic'. At first she thought that had been exaggeration but, if anything, they'd been understating it.

Koenig's briefing had been brutally straight and blunt. The Republic was teetering on the edge of economic collapse and unless the situation in New Vegas was resolved quickly it would go over the edge. She'd been incredulous; according to the media the NCR was still economically secure despite the failure to annex New Vegas. Koenig had brought out a sheet of paper from his desk, accompanied by a glass of scotch, and then told to drink it before reading the paper. She was glad she'd downed it before reading. Hardly anything could have prepared her for the fact that nearly everyone in the NCR, from the media on down, had been lied to.

"Why me?" She'd managed to ask after she'd got over the shock. "I'm just an ordinary grunt."

"Hardly," Koenig disagreed. "You saw more action in the last 2 years than most grunts against the Fiends and the Legion. You know most of the Vegas territory well and Colonel Moore seems to think pretty highly of you, which is a hard enough feat to pull off in itself."  
Ashley smiled a little at that. Getting noticed on the battlefield by one of the higher-ups was a plus. But she knew there were other considerations.

"I suppose they think I can seduce my way in too? And I'm expendable." Ashley was a knockout. 20 years old, blond-gold hair in a long ponytail, fit, athletic and one hell of a figure.

"I'm sure those were factors in the choice," Koenig never sugar coated anything. "But if we don't act soon, the term expendable will apply to all of us."

Ashley nodded. "So what is the plan? Stop the Patriots before they give the Courier an excuse to stab us in the back again?"

"Actually he pretty much stabbed us in the front and he didn't need the Patriots as a reason," Koenig replied bluntly. "Whatever your personal opinion on the Courier might be we need him more than ever before. Those figures make that perfectly clear. Besides he's not the problem. Of all the people over there he's one of the few true friends we've got; the problem is the provisional government he's set up. Most of them aren't as friendly and don't have his patience. Ambassador Crocker thinks we have 2 weeks, 3 at most, before things go out of the Courier's hands and his people demand stronger action. Maybe less if those Patriot idiots actually get lucky and hit something major."

"A third rate militia's causing this much trouble?" Ashley was at a loss.

"Physically no. At least not yet. But politically they're doing us major damage. They've already cost us a peaceful annexation of south Oregon and if we don't do something fast the New Vegas government could cut off our power from Hoover Dam and all our trade links. In our current state you know what that would mean. If this is too much for you..."  
"No! Sir," Ashley came across a lot sharper than she'd have liked. "I can do it."

All of which had culminated in a late afternoon sneak Vertibird flight across the border and a touchdown near Jacobstown. With Marcus and Keene both away setting up at Black Mountain Doc Henry held court and had put her up in one of the bungalows. It certainly wasn't a first class hotel but it suited enough for her to get some rest and start planning her next move. She'd studied the background files on the flight in; she knew the places to avoid and, perhaps more importantly, the people to avoid: Cass, Boone and certainly the Courier himself. Ashley's feelings toward Jaden were a mixed bag. Like Colonel Moore she'd taken it very personally when Jaden had snatched Vegas out from under them. Having said that there was the trifling point that he'd saved her life, and likely from being raped as well, at the battle of Hoover Dam.

She'd fallen asleep without being able to form an immediate plan aside from hiking down to Vegas itself in the morning. She'd woken up to the sound of another Vertibird leaving and quickly looked outside to see Marcus and Raul coming through the gates, having just been dropped off by Daisy Whitman, Jaden still allowed her to fly her Vertibird on transport runs.

Ashley ducked away from the window. Her briefing had mentioned Raul Tejada; one of Jaden's inner circle. She decided to wait until they went into the lodge then slip out down the road.

"Nice to be off that mountain, hombre," Raul hadn't enjoyed his time up there but he'd still gone anyway. He was very familiar with the systems after all. "You're better company than Tabitha ever was."

"That's not hard to be," Marcus joked as they entered the lodge and met up with Doc Henry. "Any problems here doctor?"  
"No, none at all. 2 guests staying overnight in the bungalows but that's it."  
Marcus raised his eyebrows, or would have if he'd had any. "2? It's rare enough we have one."  
"Yes. A blond woman and a man. The man was a mysterious one. Dressed in black armour I've never seen before!"

"Doc, trouble out front!" Calamity shouted a warning as she looked out the front window.

Doc Henry went to her side and looked out. "Not again, is that the same bunch from last time?"

A team of 5 men in metal and combat armour stood a distance away outside the gates. The female guest looked like she was having a shouting match with them.

"Better get outside and find out," Raul pulled out his 44 having a very bad feeling about this.

Outside Ashley hadn't expected her mission to go FUBAR so quickly. She'd no sooner stepped out of Jacobstown when the well armed group appeared down the road. Three of them were dressed like well armed mercenaries; metal armour, helmets and marksman/assault carbines. But two were in Patriot 'uniform' if it could be called that, green combat armour with a crude bear motif, and one was a face she knew very well. She'd slammed her fist into it two years ago after all for making unwanted advances at her and her younger sister. He possessed a very similar appearance to his senator father but none of his tact or talent; Howard Caldwell was kind of hard to miss.

**Lakeside road to Bitter Springs-same time**

Jaden, meanwhile, had decided to mix business with pleasure so he changed into his duster and was taking a walk down to Bitter Springs. Officially he was going to visit the refugee camp but really he was going for some fresh air and to clear his head with Cass walking by his side. They were about half way there when the plans got a forced change.

"You see them?" Cass suddenly whispered.

"You mean the four morons on that ridge up there who think we can't see them?" Jaden whispered back. His pip-boy had already picked them up and once you looked they weren't hard to spot.

"They've probably got a scope on us," Cass warned.

"Don't worry about it."

Up on the ridge the team of four did indeed have a sniper rifle. All three men and one woman were in black combat armour and had been waiting for days for an opportunity like this.

"Come on, take the shot already!" The dark skinned woman was getting more than a little impatient. "I promised Gloria this would be done by now!"  
"Almost," the sniper almost had Jaden's head lined up in his sights.

Celia Van Graff snickered as she settled down beside the sniper to watch. Jaden Storm had cost the Van Graffs thousands of caps in bribes after the caravan scandal had come out. What he'd cost them in lost business wasn't calculable.

_And as a bonus we get that drunken caravan bitch thrown in! My big sis will be...what the?_

Celia's train of thought was derailed by something wet splashing across her cheek. She wiped it away and looked at her hand to see it stained red. She whipped her head round to see her sniper, minus his head, slump forward.

"Oh shi..." she didn't have time to finish before 2 more shots slammed into the heads of the other men. Celia flung herself behind a rock formation quickly and grabbed a plasma pistol from her belt. She knew it wouldn't do her any good against a sniper but she resolved not to be taken easily. Lady luck wasn't with her today however.

"Freeze!"

Jaden Storm had worked his way up and now she had a 12.7mm hand cannon pointed at her. She gripped tight on her plasma pistol and thought about a quick draw...

"Don't even think about it!"

...which quickly ended as Cass came around the rock with her caravan shotgun.

"You know this one, Cass?" Jaden asked.

"I'm Celia Van Graff!" Celia snarled in hatred. "You thought there wouldn't be consequences for what you did?"

Jaden snorted, cocked his pistol for show and took careful aim. "Funny. That's pretty much what I was going to say."

Celia's angered expression suddenly gave way to panic. "Wait, I said I'm a Van Graff! You can't do this!"

Jaden's pistol spat and her belly felt like it was on fire as the piercing round tore through flesh and armour alike.

"I think you'll find I very much can," Jaden's voice had never been colder. "This is MY turf now. Your 'rules' don't apply here; as the rest of your family will learn. Oh and bon appétit!"

No one, save Jaden, could have foreseen the next part. He grabbed Celia by the front, pulled her upward and then flung her clean off the ridge, bouncing her off the wall once before slamming onto the ground hard. She crippled her left leg on landing but otherwise she was intact.

Biting back the pain she sat up to throw a curse back only to be filled with fear as she heard a mix of hissing and rattling to her right. She turned her head to meet the hungry gaze of a pack of Nightstalkers.

A cold and emotionless Jaden turned around and walked off the other side of the ridge with Cass.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Even Cass had been taken aback.

"Threatening my friends or my new country? Never letting that go, Cass." Jaden may have had a good heart and always tried to reason and bring out the good in people but that didn't mean he was soft. When push came to shove he was a very good killer.

They walked down to meet up with Boone, who'd had time to catch up after his precision sniping, with Celia's screams echoing through the valley behind them as the pack ripped her to shreds.

**Jacobstown**

"Ash?" The younger Caldwell's face had a real shocked expression. "Been a long time."  
"Not long enough I think," Ashley's voice could have frozen the Mojave. Despite feeling a little underdressed in merc adventurer gear and having just a 9mm pistol she wasn't giving an inch. Morons like this gave the Legion some credibility as far as she was concerned. "What the fuck are you doing out here? And in that outfit no less?"  
"Ash, it's not what you think..." Caldwell had gone from shocked to very uncomfortable as the situation sunk in.

"Oh? How's that exactly, I mean you being out of the NCR and in a terrorist uniform?"

"We are NOT terrorists!" Caldwell was really riled by that.

"Tell that to the caravaneers you killed!" Ashley shot back just as hard. "Because of that your Patriots are on the proscribed list now."

Caldwell, for the second time that day, was shocked.

"You didn't hear that then?" Ashley couldn't keep the contempt from her voice. "After you lot destroyed two caravans with our caps the Congress put you on the same list as the Jackals and the Vipers. There'll be no hero's welcome for you when you come home, IF you come home."

"Ash, it wasn't meant to turn out like that, we're just trying to get what's ours! We fought here for four years for Christ's sake!"

Ashley was having none of it. "And your answer's to become like Legion and kill innocent people? Which dickhead ordered that?"

Caldwell switched tack on hearing that. He still had a thing for Ashley despite her rejecting him. "Come with us and we'll show you. The General will..."  
Ashley cut him right off. "The General? OLIVER'S behind this?"

Caldwell grimaced as he realised his overeager hormones and need to persuade Ashley had overcome his common sense. There was no backing out now though.

"Yes he is. Come on Ash, I know you're smart. You're not going to tell me you liked seeing some road dickweed steal everything we've been working for are you? Come with us, we could use you."

"You really have gone off the deep end," Ashley spat. "Working for that loser as a third rate caravan raider? Come to think of it, what are you doing up here? You're well off their regular trade routes."

"Finishing a job that should have been done long ago: driving these muties out. The Brahmin barons will want the land when we annex it."  
_Yeah right. _Ashley couldn't believe this moron. But then again, she knew, a lot of the kids of the NCR's 'first families' weren't exactly known for their brainpower, just getting their way all the time. They never stopped to think that the outside world didn't much care who their parents were or how many politicians were in their pockets.

"Ok Ash, enough talk," Caldwell knew he had a losing hand on getting Ashley to join him but he had a job to do. "If you won't join us then we've got nothing else to talk about. Step aside and..."  
"Fuck you." Ash's pistol was in her hand and pointed at his head in 2 seconds.

"Ash I'm not playing games! We're on the same side here and..."  
"Do I look like I'm playing around?" Ashley snarled. "And you traitors are definitely _not _my friends!"

Caldwell was torn. Her brutal rejection in the past notwithstanding he still cared and the last thing he wanted was this situation. He was trying to figure out another way to talk her down when the decision was taken out of his hands.

Ashley had made the mistake of keeping all her attention on Caldwell so she wasn't prepared for the two marksman carbine rounds that slammed into her left side and arm and sent her crashing to the ground in agony.

"What the hell are you doing?" Caldwell was livid at his teammate. "Who told you to fire?"

"We haven't got time for this!" the merc shot back. "If we don't hurry this up we'll be caught by one of those bot patrols!"

As much as he wanted to tend to the wounded Ashley first Caldwell knew the man was right. "All right. It's not like it'll take long. The muties haven't got that many guns so we've not got much to worry about."

"Oh I don't know about that! Because you have _me_..."

Caldwell had no time to track the unknown voice that seemed to come out of nowhere before his three metal garbed friends got taken down. Laser beams reduced Ashley's shooter to ash and decapitated the other two.

"What the fuck? Howard, get behind...uurrrgh!" Caldwell stumbled back in sheer disbelief as blood spurted from his partner's mouth.

Their attacker dropped his stealth field. He was, of course, the same warrior who'd saved Cass the day before. He was dressed in black from head to toe, including a head covering ninja style mask and an evil looking black visor over his eyes. He had a beefed up laser rifle on his back, an improved magnum and a silenced 10mm at his hips and his right arm had a serrated sword blade attached which he'd just made use of.

"If you're the best the NCR has I'd hate to see the worst!" the black warrior brutally wrenched his blade sideways, disembowelling the Patriot and letting him fall to the road as his guts started to spill out...

**Bitter Springs**

The camp at Bitter Springs was in good spirits since the news had arrived from Vegas that they were to be moved into Vault 3. Jaden was trying to sort out the last few details with Captain Gilles. She'd stayed at the refugee camp after the final battle despite the NCR withdrawal, she'd been with her charges too long and she wanted to see it through to the end.

"You've got some real fans out there Jaden," she smiled at the Courier's discomfort.

"I know," he groaned. Cass and Boone had a real difficult job keeping him apart from the over grateful mob outside.

"We can be ready to pack up and move in a day or two if that's all right?"

"That's the trouble, I don't know for sure anymore," Jaden admitted. "These Patriots attack anything that resembles a caravan, I'm afraid to move anything or anyone under these circumstances."

"Yes I know," Like Boone, the Patriots disgusted Gilles. The country had been born from defeating Raider gangs, so these guys were an affront on everything the NCR stood for as far she was concerned. "But I don't think we can delay moving too long. Everyone's flying high on this, if we delay it..."  
"...we risk a riot," Jaden caught on fast. "Alright, I'll send out a few dummy caravans at the same time we move you in...two days. Sound good?"  
Gilles nodded. "Good? I can hardly wait. Finally these poor people get a home away from Legion slavers."

"I'll drink to that," Jaden grinned.

**The Hub-NCR **

"They're moving them in two days, Boss. A load of dummies are getting sent out to throw Raiders off too."  
"Very well, thank you and good night."

Omar Cronus was many things to many people. He was unattractive physically, 40 years old, completely bald and with heavy scarring down the left side of his face. To most of the trading community at the Hub he was a simple broker of information and goods alike. To the NCR he was a Legion defector and the provider of good intelligence that had saved a lot of lives. To the Legion he was a loyal Frumentarius who had done an excellent job of infiltrating the profligate nation and fed many secrets back to Flagstaff regularly. Finally, to General Oliver and his Patriots, he was their main arms supplier.

To anyone who asked about his name he simply said it was the one he was born with in Colorado and he hadn't seen fit to change it. Your actions defined you, not a name, at least that was how Cronus explained it. Not that it was the name he used when he dealt with the Legion; they knew him as Marcus Crassus.

He switched frequencies on his radio equipment. This news from Vegas was important and could be what he had been waiting for all this time.

"Rowan? How did the deal go with the Van Graffs?"

His assistant Rowan looked ten years his junior and had jet black hair in a punk hairstyle. She seemed to have a constant smile on her face but it never reached her eyes. They were like cubes of ice that would never melt.

"It went very well; they processed it into weapon form today. They seemed even more eager to develop it for us than I thought, almost like they'd stop caring whether they'd be found out."  
"I thought as much," Cronus smiled coldly. "Since their sister got killed by the Courier earlier today they're even hungrier for revenge."

"Why involve them at all? We could have easily developed this weapon ourselves."

Cronus's smile grew even wider so it was almost a leer. "Scapegoats, why else? They're fool enough to think that we're on their side and that there'll be no consequences. Instead they'll get a scandal that'll make that caravan conspiracy look like a minor crime. It will also help us ingratiate ourselves further with the Legion."

Rowan nodded. "Yes, perfect. They get implicated for manufacturing chemical weapons and we can get credit for dragging the 'profligates' good name through the mud! What did you have in mind for it though? A small scale test?"  
"Yes, physically it will be small. Enough to determine whether it will do what our lab results said it would do and if it will serve well for larger use," Cronus stabbed his finger on a map of New Vegas. "Politically however..."

He started to laugh and Rowan joined him as she realised just what he had in mind.

"Oh there's no doubt about the effect, the plans did come from the Big Empty after all," Rowan sneered. "It's absolute lethal."

"Then send the gas canisters and shells to Oliver with our 'suggestion' for how to use it."

"Are you sure that he will? You know what that fool's ego is like!" Rowan despised having to deal with Oliver in any capacity.

Cronus knew Rowan had a point. But it was largely moot now. Oliver's other support was drying up fast with the expansionist faction in Congress neutered and Caldwell's blockade bill had been shot down like a lame duck last night. Soon he would have nowhere else to turn.

"I don't think he has much choice. Remind him of the political situation and his own supply state; I'm certain that'll swing it."  
As Rowan left Cronus turned back to his radio and activated it.

"Flagstaff, this is Frumentarius Crassus do you read?"  
"Go ahead, Crassus!" the eager reply was prompt.

"Make sure all essential Legion personnel are clear of the Bitter Springs road in 2 days. There's going to be a tragedy there...


	5. Unexpected twists

I've still got a good writing flow! Thanks for all the favs/follows and reviews guys.

Eaglescorch: No one ever said running a country was easy and there's still more problems ahead but this is Vegas and fortunes change : )

Oddliver: You know how I like to keep things interesting : ).

DeathscytheVII: I was worried that the politics would be boring for a lot of people, good to see that wasn't the case. I'm sure Bethesda were thinking of Afghanistan or something like it when they dreamed up the NV situation though I didn't exactly have the US in mind when I started this. I simply took the post war situation and combined it with the economic situation in Greece. As for the super LW, yeah he had a point but that is the aim of the game and he needed it since his enemies were just as heavy powered.

GcNm : Thanks and keep writing on your fic. As you said there aren't enough continuing NV fics; not that have been finished anyway.

Since everyone wants me to keep up the good work I'd better shut up and get the fic back on...

**Lucky 38-4****th**** floor suite**

Ashley groaned as she awoke on a bed in a smaller version of Jaden's suite. At first it was like a Deathclaw and a Yao Guai were having a deathmatch in her head. Two minutes later her head cleared and recent events came flooding back. She'd seen Caldwell's team taken apart by the cloaked black warrior and then Caldwell himself. He'd never stood a chance. On seeing his partner drop he'd drawn a combat knife, lunged straight at the assailant and knifed him in the arm...or he least he _tried _to. On hitting the arm the knife snapped clean off like it was a twig. As Caldwell staggered back in surprise the warrior took full advantage, catching Caldwell with a palm strike to the chin snapping his head back and breaking his neck clean. His corpse had come down on Ashley's head and knocked her out. The next thing she knew she was waking up here.

"Ah, you're awake," Julie Farkas had entered the bedroom to check on her newest patient. "How are you feeling?"

Ashley checked herself to find her bullet wounds bandaged and her headache was largely gone. "Better, much better thanks. Where am I?"  
"A guest suite at the Lucky 38," Julie replied.

Ashley swallowed hard. How could things have gone so bad for her? A simple infiltration mission and now she was in the last place she wanted to be! Thinking quickly and keeping her expression neutral, she knew she needed to bluff her way out and fast.

"Well thanks for fixing me up doc," Ashley tried to keep the fear out of her voice. "I'd better not take up any more of your time..."  
"Oh nice try, senorita, but no cigar."

Ashley looked up to see Raul and Arcade enter the room behind Julie and her heart sunk through her stomach.

Raul gave her a little smile. "Marcus wanted me to pass on his thanks for standing up for Jacobstown but I'm afraid we can't allow you to leave yet. Not until the boss has a chance to talk to you."

"From what Raul told me you seemed to know those Patriots rather well," Arcade added with a little acid in his tone.

Ashley knew the jig was up and there wasn't any point in lying. "I suppose you heard our argument then?"

"I think they heard you in _Arizona,_" Raul chuckled. "We heard enough to work out you're NCR. But don't worry; the boss doesn't think you're an enemy. He hasn't told the rest of the government about you but I think he'd appreciate a little honesty in return."

Ashley nodded. "Alright, I'll stick around. But...what happened to that other guy?"

"The one in black? I don't know," Raul was at a loss. "We tried to talk to him but he just vanished again after saving you. We haven't seen him since."

"You don't know who he is?" Ashley found that hard to believe.

Arcade shook his head. "No. No one does. Mr New Vegas has taken to calling him the Dark Phantom. All we know is this isn't the first time he's done something like this. He must hate the NCR or Raiders or both. Beyond that we know nothing at all."

**Lucky 38 Penthouse**

Upstairs Jaden, Boone, Cass and Veronica were trying to get some answers or insight into the Dark Phantom. A Securitron caravan escort had caught some of the action at Jacobstown on its camera feed and now they were reviewing the footage on Yes Man's screens.

"What do you think?" Boone asked neutrally.

"He's good alright," Cass offered.

"VERY good," Jaden was more than a little worried. "Excellent aim, precise blade strike..."

"...and a clean neck breaker," Veronica finished half in awe and half in concern.

Boone nodded. "Definitely elite forces of some kind. NCR ranger, Legion Centurion, Brotherhood of Steel Paladin maybe."

"What the?" Jaden's keen eyes had picked up on something else. "Oh hell, he might be more than that."

Before everyone could ask the obvious question Jaden used the zoom function and moved in up close on the warrior's left wrist.

"Now what does that look like to you?" To make the question easier Jaden held his own left wrist, with his customised gold pip-boy, next to the screen.

"Shit." Cass pretty much summed it up with that one word. The warrior also had a pip-boy 3000 on his left wrist.

"If it is the same guy who saved Cass the other day and two other caravans on the west side," Jaden had received reports about that on his return from Bitter Springs which he passed out to his friends. "Then he's someone we need to take seriously."

"No kidding," Veronica couldn't believe what she was reading. The warrior had 'ambushed the ambushers' near Sloan. He had killed the Patriot group outright by sneaking up under his stealth cover and tossing a grenade straight into the middle of them. On the second occasion he'd been up near Westside when a group of ex-Fiends had tried to take him down. Ten seconds later three out of four had their heads blown off by magnum shots and the fourth first lost his hand to the warrior's blade and then his throat.

"Most soldiers and fighters usually use 1 or 2 combat styles at best and they're pretty specialised," Jaden reasoned. "This guy uses guns, blades, laser, grenades, hand to hand, he's got stealth capability..."  
"He's a walking encyclopaedia of combat, he knows every style there is," now Boone's voice sounded concerned too.

Jaden sighed. "Not only that we don't know who he is or why he's here. He's a total wildcard. He may not be a friend of the Patriots but we can't assume he's a friend of ours either. The way he keeps hidden and doesn't come forward bothers me."  
"It sure hints he's up to something," Cass agreed. "But what?"

"I'm sure we'll find out soon, when we see him again that is." Jaden was certain that they would.

"The NCR soldier girl's awake," Raul and Arcade entered the penthouse to join the conversation.

"Yeah I saw it on the cameras. I met her briefly at Hoover Dam," Jaden remembered. "Did she say much?"

"Not too much except she was sent by the new Ranger chief," Arcade explained. "Trying to track down the Patriots before we did. She wasn't very successful."

"Or too successful depending on your point of view," Jaden quipped.

Veronica smiled. "Well yeah but this helps doesn't it? I mean you can tell the Cabinet about her, shows the NCR's helping."

"I don't think so, Veronica. Best if we keep her out of sight. The mood they're in at the moment it might make things worse. I'm still trying to brace us for the moment when the news about that senator's son being with the Patriots leaks out. I hate to think what Mr New Vegas and the people are going to make of that one!"

"How's Crocker taking that?" Cass was almost afraid to ask.

Jaden sighed. He felt personally sorry for Crocker. "Badly. He's in a real bind. It wasn't enough some of the NCR army was involved but a state senator's son too? No point trying to fight this in public; the more the NCR denies involvement the guiltier they look."

Boone had to agree. "I'm afraid he's right. We're trying to keep everything under wraps but it's only a matter of time before lips get loose."

"And I know what the Cabinet would say about our guest," Jaden sighed. "That she's lying to us, she's a spy sent in to help the Patriots. They'd just use her to support the story they want, that's the way politics works sometimes."

"I suppose just in case..." Arcade anticipated.

"Yeah, keep her to the floor she's on or the cocktail lounge. Just in case she _is_ a put up job!"

**Ranger HQ-NCR**

Chief Koenig was bristling with anger. Bad enough he had to suffer a meeting with the two people in his office; one he felt some slight sympathy for, the other none at all. The latter, Gloria Van Graff, was the one he chose to deal with first.

"My sister is dead! She was murdered by that bastard Courier and your response is to do NOTHING!?"  
Koenig, much to her annoyance, was unmoved by her ranting. If anything he looked even more indifferent than he had before.

"Since that's what my orders are from the President and the government, yes that's right. Let me explain a few things. New Vegas is now a sovereign nation whether you like it or not. As such we don't have any legal authority there and, as yet, no extradition treaties either."  
Gloria started another rant. "So my sister goes on a simple business trip and..."

"...which we only have your word for," Koenig cut her off sharply. His tone indicated that the Van Graffs' word didn't amount to very much as far as he was concerned. "You might want to play the fool, Miss Van Graff, but never treat me as one! I know damn well what your family has been up to lately, including hiring that hit team. You tried to take him out and he took your sister out in self defence. End of conversation."

For emphasis he threw a file onto the desk in front of her. Gloria swallowed hard as she realised that Koenig had not just found them out but he had evidence in spades, including the letters of credit to the mercenaries her sister had hired. The family had been deluding themselves when they thought they'd eluded the Rangers' intelligence net. They'd simply not been a priority and too small fish to bother with until the caravan conspiracy came out, then they'd come under a giant microscope thanks to Koenig.

This time the wind had been taken out of Gloria's sails. "So why did you agree to this meeting if you weren't going to take any action?"

"I only agreed to this as a courtesy," Koenig practically spat. "To the President that is. Nothing more. I certainly wouldn't have otherwise. In case you hadn't noticed you don't pull as much weight as you did."

Gloria mentally cursed as she knew that was true. A lot of their friends had been bounced out of Congress too and the new congressmen and senators were proving resistant to bribery, well at least resistant to Van Graff bribery. Most were not willing to ally with such defamed public figures.

"Fine. Then there's nothing more to discuss. The family won't be happy with your decision however, they might want to take it up with the President."

Koenig snorted. If that had been meant to intimidate him, it failed miserably. He doubted they'd get any further with the President than they had with him.

"Be my guest. In the meantime your family doesn't have to be happy with my decision. They'll just have to live with it. Good day."

As Gloria childishly slammed the door on her way out he turned to Senator Horace Caldwell.

"My apologies Senator and my condolences. Ambassador Crocker's dispatch brought me up to speed an hour ago."

Caldwell's eyes were puffed red. He'd been virtually inconsolable since he'd heard the news and had only just managed to pull himself back together for this meeting.

Koenig was more sympathetic in tone but his message was essentially the same. "Senator you have my sympathies. But I'm afraid I must refuse your request as well."

Caldwell had been half expecting that answer. "May I at least ask why?"

"Aside from the points I raised with that harpy, we don't even have a target to hunt," Koenig explained. "No one knows who this Dark Phantom is, not even the Courier or any of his people. He's completely off the radar."

"But the Courier must know something! Can't we use that as an excuse to go in and search?" Caldwell wasn't giving up.

"We've no legal authority unless the Vegas government grants it, which they won't. Especially given the small matter of the uniform your son was wearing at the time."

Caldwell bit back a string of profanities. It wasn't really Koenig he was cursing but his idiot son for going to Vegas in the first place and the moron of a general who'd sent him to Jacobstown.

"He always was proud of his country...and he was easily led," Caldwell sniffled.

"Be that as it may, all he's done is given Jaden Storm more ammunition to use against us," Koenig snorted. "Crocker wasn't grateful I know, because it earned him yet another reprimand. Any more incidents like this and we could be in real trouble. Besides, the killer hasn't destroyed any New Vegas assets or people so the Courier's not very bothered about hunting him down."

Koenig tried to put some sympathy into his voice as he saw Caldwell wilt under his words.

"I know a man should never have to bury his child. But there's not a lot we can do. The Courier's pissed off with us and we don't have much political clout with him right now. I can assure you we'll pull out all the stops and try and identify your son's killer but even if we do..."

Caldwell knew what Koenig was hesitating in saying. They had no right of arrest even if they did identify him; Jacobstown was not their territory.

"By the way, if you want to help with this, you could do me a little favour."

Caldwell was taken by surprise and his eyes lit up at Koenig's offer.

"And what would that be?"

Koenig smiled but it was not a warm one. "If you know anyone who might be aiding and abetting these Patriots, you would do well to tell them to cease and desist immediately. Some friends of mine, unsympathetic ones I might add, are starting to take an interest in the Patriots' ability to get hold of Republic weapons and equipment. If this problem were to be resolved; well let's just say the Courier would probably be more receptive to the idea of helping us find your son's killer."

"I understand, Chief. That's...very considerate of you," Caldwell nodded in understanding of Koenig's veiled threats. The real message he was giving was crystal clear: either you halt your hidden support for the Patriots or face the consequences. Caldwell knew Koenig's reputation. Lost son or not, he'd be down on him and the rest of his faction like a load of bricks.

"Well then I'll bid you good day as well," Koenig shook hands with the Senator. "I don't mean to be brusque but I have a lot more to do today."

"Of course. If I hear anything or if I can be of any help, you'll be the first one I call."

As Caldwell left the office Colonels Hsu and Moore entered from Koenig's private quarters next door. He'd allowed them to listen in on the meeting as he'd wanted their insight and advice.

"Think he got the hint?" Moore asked.

Koenig nodded. "I sure he did. It'll just be a question of whether he acts on it or not. I hope he does; last thing I want to do is arrest him. The death of his son is kind of punishment enough."

"If he does we'll have probably cut off the Patriots' main supply line," Hsu smiled in approval. "A result we can take to the Courier and the New Vegas government; some good news for once."

Koenig winced. "Well I've got some bad news too. The agent we sent in? She's in the Lucky 38 now."  
Both Colonels were aghast when they heard the news.

"How?" Moore was mortified. She was personally close to Ashley and her family.

"She got caught up in the younger Caldwell's death and got wounded. By another stroke of bad luck one of Jaden Storm's inner circle happened to be close by: Raul Tejada. He patched her up but I think he made her. He caught a caravan ride back to Vegas and took her in with him."

"But Jaden...he'll send her back to us won't he?" Hsu asked with a worried expression.

"A month or two ago I wouldn't have worried. Him discovering an NCR spy with the climate as it is now though? I wouldn't like to bet how he'll react!"

**Lucky 38- cocktail lounge**

Jaden wasn't reacting as harshly as the Colonels feared, although he certainly wasn't happy to see Ashley. Having an NCR soldier trying to sneak in unannounced was the last thing he needed right now, whether they were trying to help or not. Much to Ashley's chagrin he'd recognised her as soon as he saw her. Being a courier, Jaden was hot when it came to names and faces and remembered saving her from a near rape by a Decanus at Hoover Dam.

It didn't take long for the conversation to develop into a full blown fight. Attractive girl or not Ashley came across to Jaden like a NCR drone and a major annoyance.

"You helped us for so long! Why did you betray us?" Ashley was finally asking the question she'd been longing to ask for a long time.

Jaden's reply was simple and dismissive. "How could I betray a cause I never swore loyalty to? I'm a freelance courier. I never changed from that role, well until now anyway. Your leaders just saw what they wanted to see and assumed I was their little lackey, not my fault they did that."

"Yeah and now here you are: King of New Vegas. You must be real proud!"

"If you think I did it for the power, your instincts are dead wrong," Jaden snapped. "I cared about New Vegas and its people and I still do. All you and the Legion wanted was to plunder it for whatever you could get."

"Damn it, we _helped _this city! If we hadn't defended it the Legion would have..."

"Maybe," Jaden wasn't giving much ground. "But how is it my fault House suckered you into defending his city for nothing? Or that you couldn't annex it in four years? You had plenty of opportunity; you just wasted it."

"Dress it up however you want, you still turned on us!" Ashley retorted despite knowing there was a lot of truth to his words. "If you didn't do it for power, then why do all this? We could have joined forces, used your Securitrons and pushed back the Legion even further!"

Jaden just snorted. "No we couldn't. That was another reason: I got sick and tired of bailing you out of the problems you couldn't handle, or in some cases you caused! Do the Powder Gangers ring any bells?"  
_Goddamnit he's quick for a simple courier! _Ashley was struggling to answer a lot of his points.

"And then there was one other thing," Jaden's voice had gone softer, in fact it was almost quivering. "There's nothing the NCR could give that would replace what they took from me. Nothing at all."

With that he angrily turned on his heel and headed for the elevator leaving Ashley more than a little confused. Jaden almost crashed headlong into Boone, Veronica and Cass who were just coming out of the elevator.

"You can send the flag girl back to the embassy anytime. I'm done with her," Jaden spat as he pressed the button for his apartment.

Cass sighed before turning to Ashley. "Struck out, huh?"

"I don't think she got up to bat," Boone's voice was uncharacteristically laden with sarcasm.

Ashley wanted to scream. "Ugh! All I wanted was to find out why he works with us for weeks then he slings us out at Hoover Dam! Is that so much of an ask?"

Boone sighed as he knew he'd have to be the one to tell this tale. It was obvious Jaden wasn't going to. He moved over to one of the tables and urged the others to join him.

"You'd best sit down; this is going to take a little while. It all started when I went with Jaden to Bitter Springs a couple of months back..."

**Patriot main camp-south of Cottonwood Cove**

It had been one of the worst years of General Lee Oliver's life. The magnitude of his fall from grace stunned even him. A few short months ago he was the leader of the NCR army that was supposed to win and bring New Vegas into the Republic; now he was reduced to a leader of a tenth rate militia based in a tent camp trying to do the same with less than half the resources and even less talent. It seemed almost inconceivable.

Still he knew denying reality wasn't going to help him and no one from back home seemed willing either; barely a handful of soldiers from his old command had joined him. This left him with a mix of Raiders, wastelanders, deserters from both sides and other assorted dross. All in all not much of an army. To add to Oliver's woes most of his equipment wasn't anything to write home about either. A lot of it, despite being high end, was poor quality and on its last legs. He had pulse guns, which certainly helped against the Courier's robots, but he had just a few of them. His supplier, Omar Cronus, claimed they were very specialised and hard to get. Maybe that was true, maybe it wasn't. Either way he had no other decisive advantage over the much better NV alliance forces. He certainly couldn't risk anymore of his 5 remaining Vertibirds unless he had to, the Securitrons' targeting systems rendered them ineffective.

Jaden's militia was far better trained and skilled. A disastrous assault on Camp McCarran by some of his men had proved that beyond doubt. The Boomers were still unreachable thanks to their guns. Now, as if all of that wasn't enough, there was this mystery Dark Phantom to deal with. Oliver would have dismissed this as a fairy tale if 20 of his men hadn't been killed by him, including Howard Caldwell.

"Have I caught you at a bad time?"

Oliver looked up from his map table to see Rowan, Cronus' lackey, enter his command tent. _As if the day wasn't shitty enough already. _Oliver disliked the punk ice bitch merc as he'd come to call her. She had no respect for him or his cause; just in it for the money. Although he had to admit his men hadn't exactly helped. One had tried to force himself on her...until she stuck a combat knife straight through his throat.

"I don't think anytime is good right now," Oliver grunted. "We just lost out trying to deal with Jacobstown and that little son of a bitch in Vegas still won't negotiate!"

Rowan sneered. She'd always figured Oliver to be arrogant and full of himself and it was a delight seeing his balloon of an ego being popped. The Courier was worth twenty of Oliver from where she stood.

"Alas, my news is bad too. Caldwell's bill was shot down in the Senate yesterday and, thanks to your destroying NCR property, the Patriots are now officially on the proscribed list. I was also asked to deliver this envelope."

Oliver groaned. He'd been half expecting this double whammy but that didn't make the news any easier. His mood darkened even further when he read the message.

"WHAT! THAT SON OF A BITCH!"

"More bad news I take it?" Rowan was unmoved by Oliver's loud voice.  
"That fucking Caldwell! He's pulled the plug on us! All his supplies and support's been discontinued. God what happened?"

"From what my boss tells me, Chief Koenig. Apparently he's been shaking a lot of your supporters down, including Senator Caldwell. He must have got too close for Caldwell's comfort."  
"FUCK! That means..."

Oliver realised very quickly what it meant: big shit trouble. Without the expansionist faction's funds and support he and his group would be out of money and supplies in just under a week. This time however Rowan came to his rescue.

"Lucky I've got some supplies and weapons to replace that then. In fact, you could use them to procure a lot more."

"You mean the Van Graffs came through?" Oliver would have grasped at any straw at this point.

"They did. The first shipment's outside now and the rest should be here by nightfall assuming everything goes smoothly and our Vertibird isn't detected."

Oliver was relieved. "Perfect. Now I just need a large caravan to hit and I can use that road jockey's own stuff against him!"  
"Already done. The boss decided to do you a free favour as you're such an important customer. There's a large convoy leaving Bitter Springs tomorrow. It won't be carrying much valuable stuff of course but, well it depends how far you're willing to go."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Oliver wasn't feeling very gracious or patient.

"Well, just asking if you're willing to branch out. Those refugees would be good bargaining chips; you take them alive Vegas will have to negotiate. And the stuff we just brought you seems tailor made for it..."

"You're right!" Oliver liked the sound of this. Although he had distaste for hostage taking it did give him a desperately needed way out of his current problem. "Do you know what route it's taking?"

"I have the route, time, everything," Rowan smiled. "In fact this would be the best place to hit it..."

Five minutes later a smirking Rowan was heading back home in a Vertibird and making a radio call.

"Did he swallow it?" Cronus was quick to ask.

"Hook, line and sinker! How that cretin made it to General I shall never know," Rowan snorted.

"True, I often ask myself the same question," Cronus admitted. "But it hardly matters in the grand scheme; he's dancing perfectly to our tune. Now we just have to keep it moving."

"In which direction?"  
"We now tip off the press with a few 'rumours' and we will be in a perfect position to exploit tomorrow's upcoming disaster. Should make a good spread for the NCR Times."

Rowan laughed. This was getting better by the minute. One thing still bothered her though.

"What about the Courier? We can't risk him intervening directly."

"Don't worry. Flagstaff just sent an unusual request my way to set up a meeting with the Courier; it'll make sure he's occupied until it's too late. What Vulpes is planning fits in perfectly with us as well. By the end of tomorrow the Courier will have sufficient motivation to do what we want and Vulpes will give him what he needs to know. The rest should fall into place on its own for us."

"I'll see you in an hour then." Rowan signed off with satisfaction. Cronus was so right, manipulating people and events was so easy. All you needed was a suggestion here, a rumour there, all untraceable of course.

Oliver may have been grinning like a circus clown when she'd left but she knew that smile wouldn't last. Soon he'd have a very different reputation as the worst war criminal since President Richardson. Pity she wouldn't be around to see his reaction but you couldn't have everything...


	6. History repeats in more ways than one

I'm really starting to get into this fic. Again thanks to all the reviewers and followers, you're the fire that's fuelling my writing.

Oddliver: Nice idea...I can see some mileage in that.

ELMO-fAN cLUB MeMbER: Sadly I can't reveal too much yet. I so love keeping people guessing :).

DeathscytheVII: Not quite in that sort of scale but more in perception and in what he's unwittingly unleashed. You'll start to understand what I mean when you finish this part.

eaglescorch: Your nose hasn't failed you. Top grade for perception on all points :).

wawaboy2: Thanks and you're right, the ramp up starts here and in a pretty nasty way.

I suppose it's time to reveal one card I wasn't hiding very well (eaglescorch picked it up anyway); this is a direct sequel to my first fic. This part they're back...

**Lucky 38- Cocktail lounge**

"So as you can tell," Boone was calmly finishing his tale. "I think the NCR is damned lucky given its mistakes."

Ashley's jaw practically hit the floor as she heard it. "We killed his parents?!"

"Along with a lot of other assorted innocents at Bitter Springs, yes," Boone answered flatly. "I came back to Bitter Springs expecting a lot of bad memories and maybe even a flashback. Instead Jaden got the flashback and I nearly end up dead."

Anyone who knew Boone's reputation would have said he was exaggerating. He certainly hadn't been. Jaden, screaming like a madman when the flashback hit him, had almost taken Boone's head off with his 12.7mm handgun. It was sheer luck Boone was looking at him at the time, managed to catch the signs and deflect Jaden's gun as he aimed.

He was somehow able to wrestle the hysterical Jaden to the ground and hold him down until the flashback passed and he fell sobbing into Boone's arms. After calming Jaden and bringing him back to reality they managed to trade stories, Boone of his role in the disaster and Jaden remembering his parents desperately trying to shield him...and then waking up under their bodies covered in their blood and him screaming in anguish to the heavens.

"Oh god," Ashley felt almost physically ill. Then another bad thought struck her. "Don't tell me that you were the one...?"

"I might have been," Boone admitted. "There were so many shots fired no one was sure who was hitting who. Anyway we ended up staying the night at the camp and stopping a Legion slave raid; made us both feel a little better."

"So why didn't you return after? Why are you still here?" Ashley couldn't help wondering.

"Why else? I owe Jaden and neither of us really found peace that day. Jaden may have forgiven me but I haven't forgiven myself or the NCR for issuing that order. I swore a blood oath with Jaden; together we'll find the truth about what happened. All the way through the command chain if necessary and if it turns out that order _wasn't _a miscommunication...then the 2 of us will be the last thing the officer who issued it never sees."

It wasn't hard to see Boone was deadly serious. His life had been wrecked too as he'd quit the NCR, settled in Novac and then ended up losing his wife to the Legion all as a result of the shameful incident at Bitter Springs.

Ashley tried to put herself in Jaden's situation. If someone had done that to her dad or younger sister...god there'd be no limit to the vengeance she'd want.

"Why didn't he destroy us at the dam then? Or turn on us sooner than he did?"

Veronica took up the narrative. "Two reasons. One was that son of a bitch Benny. By shooting Jaden he wiped out a lot of his memories, this one only got triggered accidentally when they went to Bitter Springs. The other is, well, just that he's a good guy and he has a big heart. He made a few friends in your army when it was here and he could never bring himself to side with the Legion. He hates them and everything they stand for as much as we do."

"It wasn't soldiers like you he was out to hurt either," Cass explained. "He just wanted to take the NCR leaders down a peg or two. Those dicks needed a kick in the head."  
Ashley could not have agreed more on that front. She had her own reasons to dislike the NCR's so called political elite.

Boone stood up. "If you want to know more you'll have to try asking him. Assuming he wants to talk to you again that is. Anyway I should hit the sack. I'm on escort duty for the convoy to Vault 3 tomorrow."

Ashley, suddenly not so confident, went over to the elevator feeling awful. She, and the rest of the NCR, owed Jaden a debt which could never be repaid in full. She could only hope that the current situation didn't put the Courier into a vengeful mood. After what she'd seen him do to the Legion, the thought of that getting turned on her country gave her the chills.

**Penthouse-next morning**

"Morning boss," Raul greeted Jaden as he entered the penthouse with ED-E.

"Morning Raul. Where's Boone, I thought he was going to wait for me here?"

"Left for Bitter Springs ten minutes ago," Arcade informed him. He, Veronica and Cass were quietly sitting on the couches waiting for him. "Guess he wanted an early start, oh and he took our NCR guest with him."

"Whatever for? I thought she was headed back to the embassy?"

Arcade shrugged. "Something about showing her what life was like out of the Republic. He wasn't that talkative."

Jaden cursed. "I'd better get after him then."

"Hang on. One of your friends from the Mojave Express dropped by at the front door with two packages, well one letter and one package anyway."

Jaden's brow knotted in confusion. He wasn't expecting anything through the post right now. He opened a bottle of Sunset Sarsaparilla and started to drink before scanning through the letter first.

"Holy fuck!" Jaden spat out a mouthful of his drink and taking everyone by surprise. "Yes Man! Are there any Securitrons at Novac right now?"

"Indeed there are! Currently there are 16 patrolling that town and its surrounding..."

"Bring up their cameras now. Order them to check out the trading tent in the middle of town quickly!"

"Jaden, what's wrong?" Cass asked concerned.

Jaden didn't reply but passed her the letter. She and the others wasted no time in reading it.

_Jaden Storm,_

_Despite your past transgressions we find ourselves with common ground again and, ironically, common enemies. I propose we meet face to face so we can arrange a mutually beneficial arrangement and reach a truce over the past. The second package contains prove of my sincerity. There's plenty more on the table for you should you put in an appearance. Do not take long to decide, I shan't remain at the traders tent post in Novac long._

_Mr Fox_

"Mr Fox? What kind of a name is that?" Veronica mused.

"The _familiar _kind," Jaden growled knowingly. The memory of the Mayor of Nipton's diaries had come rushing back to him. "There he is!"

He brought a Securitron's camera view onto the main screen to show a man in a dark pre-war business suit and hat sitting inside the tent on Novac's main road. He had dark hair and the face of a viper.

"He looks familiar," Cass had a bad feeling about this.

"Yeah. Add a red uniform and a dog's head and you're there," Jaden snarled. "Vulpes Inculta!"

"Oh hell, as if we didn't have trouble enough!" Arcade spat. "What's that butcher doing back here?"

Jaden opened the second package, after checking it carefully first, to reveal it contained secret reports from the Legion Frumentarii. In fact it was from the same batch Varo had given Vulpes a day or two earlier and the contents were eye opening for Jaden. They revealed, in detail, the financial support for the Patriots from Senator Caldwell and the Van Graffs. The facts didn't surprise him but the fact the Legion was able to get hold of them and share them with him was staggering.

"Intent on helping us it seems."

"What?!" Cass looked through the documents herself in disbelief.

"Better see if you can get hold of Daisy, Arcade," Jaden finally decided.

"You're not thinking of going are you?" Arcade looked at Jaden as if he'd gone insane.

"Of course I'm going!" Jaden snapped. "If I don't we'll never get the rest of these papers he's offering and we need something like this right now, you said it yourself."

"You can't trust this guy! Did you forget what he did to Nipton?" Cass was incredulous too.

"I remember. But if he can give us what we want it'll be worth the risk. If he's thinking of trying anything he'll regret it, the Securitrons can see to that."

**Bitter Springs**

It had taken a lot of willpower for Boone to get himself back to Bitter Springs but he knew that once this was over it would put a lot of his past demons to rest. The refugees were in the process of getting loaded onto six large Brahmin pulled carts and were almost ready to depart.

"Where's Jaden? I thought he was going to be here too?" Captain Gilles was fretting along with him.

"Maybe he's getting more backup for us," Boone tried to be calm although he certainly wasn't. "This is important to him too. That's why I'm here along with the Aces."

The New Vegas Aces, as people had taken to calling them, were an elite squad of Jaden's new NV militia. They'd shown more promise than most during their basic training and had ended up under Boone's personal tutelage. In addition to their standard uniform, the same colour and design as Sierra Madre security, they all wore a shoulder patch with a club, diamond, heart and spade.

The Aces' leader was a woman, Layla Benson. She was a deserter from the NCR army and had actually tried to rob Jaden at Primm once. He'd called her bluff and had let her go, a favour she repaid in full by joining his militia. She'd only walked out on the NCR due to their lack of decisive leadership and the fact that green kids were dying all around her. Becoming a small two bit Raider gang wasn't any alternative as far as she was concerned so she joined the NV militia wholeheartedly when the opportunity came up.  
Doug Riker was a 6ft 3 black haired giant and the Aces' heavy weapons specialist. His minigun had blasted countless enemies to death during his time as a caravan guard. Now he protected whatever New Vegas wanted moving, no questions asked.

Blaine Rogers, by contrast, was blond and only 5ft 10 but was still deadly in his own right. His sniping skills rivalled Boone himself and Boone was in no doubt he'd have made 1st Recon if he'd been NCR. Not like that was ever going to happen though. Blaine's brother had been killed by Legion marauders a year ago right under the noses of the NCR at Ranger Station Charlie. Needless to say Blaine wasn't too forgiving of either side and joined New Vegas to hurt both as much as he could.

Last and certainly not least was Chelsea Anderson. She was a mechanical genius who'd spent most of her childhood fixing machines at her family's small farm in the NCR. That had all changed when she was 15 and her farm had been wiped out in what seemed like a random Raider attack. The leader had made the mistake of trying to rape her and she'd pretended to give in...before denutting him with her father's combat knife. As he'd screamed his head off she'd grabbed his riot shotgun and blasted the other three as they'd come to his aid. After finishing him with a shot to the head Chelsea soon discovered that she was the only one left alive; her entire family had been slaughtered. To make matters worse it hadn't been a chance raid at all. One search of the Raiders turned up a holotape with instructions from a Brahmin baron to drive them out by any means necessary.

A heartbroken Chelsea had buried her family, packed up her few possessions and had walked east over the border to Vegas. On arriving at the Mojave Express office in Primm she took her own personal vengeance by mailing the holotape straight to the NCR Times. After that Johnson Nash offered her a courier job once he'd heard her story and she accepted. No way was she going back to the NCR again, she wasn't going to finish her teen years in one of their orphanages and didn't want any of their counselling. The politicians could apologise all they wanted, the NCR had fucked her and she wasn't getting over that. She said as much in the accompanying letter she'd sent with the holotape. 4 years later she ran into Blaine on a delivery run. The two hit it off and after a few drinks and an intimate night together; they made plans to join Jaden's new militia force. The red haired beauty was now the Aces' maintenance tech and explosives expert.

"Boone! We're almost ready to roll. Assuming you're done with the drones that is!"

Ashley and Gilles groaned inwardly at Chelsea's bitter language. Ashley would have shot more than a few words back were it not for the fact that Boone had told her of Chelsea's past and they weren't on NCR turf.

Boone sighed. "Coming! We'll ride in the next cart; put some space between you and my team. I'm expecting some fireworks along the way and I'd rather not have any in the carts if it's all the same to you."

Ashley nodded in agreement. She was starting to think coming out here may have been a mistake but she wasn't in a position to argue with Boone for bringing her, plus if the Patriots did attack she still might get some information she could send back to Chief Koenig and redeem her miserable performance up to now.

The Aces and the other support militia took up the rear cart and would act as tail cover support to the escorting 4 Securitrons should the worst happen. Boone, Ashley and Gilles would ride shotgun in the 5th cart along with most of the refugee children, much to the chagrin of all 3. But they were the most vulnerable things on the convoy and Boone had to ensure they were protected above all else. He just had a gut feeling that this wouldn't be a trouble free trip...

**Novac**

Jaden and Cass had reached Novac in less than half an hour after reading Vulpes' note. Daisy's Vertibird put them down near the junkyard and they ran the rest of the way into town. Vulpes was still sitting at a table inside the tent sipping a sarsaparilla of his own.

"Ease back, Cass. Between the Securitrons here and your eyes I'll be fine."

Cass nodded. "I'll hold you to that. Remember you can't trust that bastard!"

Vulpes grinned as he saw Jaden approach. "Excellent. I did wonder if you were going to put in an appearance."

"What surprises me is why you've put one in here," Jaden retorted coldly. He had very little like for this man. The cruel butchery in Nipton was one of the prime reasons he would never join the Legion. Any society that killed innocent people just to prove a lousy point wasn't one worthy of his support.

"Mending fences and hurting the profligates at the same time, why else? I take it you read the other notes I sent you?"

Jaden rolled his eyes. "Mending fences? You've changed your tune since we last met. What's the point of mending fences if you're just going to knock them down again a few months from now?"

"Come now, Courier. Sarcasm is beneath us both," Vulpes chided gently. "We might disagree on a lot of things but that doesn't stop us helping each other on occasion."  
"I thought your Legion's code did," Jaden retorted. "Caesar called me an enemy of yours forever."

"Officially," Vulpes smiled coldly. "But I am pragmatic if nothing else. I know your skills and capabilities and the tale of your defeat of Lanius will be told about in our camps for years to come. You're not an enemy we can afford right now."

"Problems at home?" Jaden had heard rumours of rebellions in Legion territory through the courier grapevine.

"Nothing we can't handle. Anyway this is about your problems not ours and since you kept your promise..." Vulpes placed another thick file on the table between them.

Jaden opened it and skimmed through the contents. The Legion had gathered a staggering amount of information on the Patriots, their backers, capabilities and their leader.

Jaden smirked as he read. "The wannabe General Oliver leading these losers? Talk about a comedown!"  
"You don't seem surprised," Vulpes matched his smirk.

"Why would I be? Only 2 men would be desperate enough to try a stunt like this and Kimball's still in the NCR being President. Not to mention he's got more intelligence," Jaden was starting to think he should have killed Oliver at the dam.

"Then take the file and use it," Vulpes insisted. "Make sure you finish the fool this time."  
A thought struck Jaden as Vulpes said that. "Ok. But what's to stop me doing the same to you now?"

Vulpes sneered and took off his hat. "Think twice, Courier. Look down at your chest. You could kill me but I wouldn't go alone."

Jaden did and a chill went up his spine as he saw red dots painted over his heart and lungs. He stole a look to his left to see six men on the garage roof in merc garb with sniper rifles and other assorted guns. Jaden had no doubt they were Legion elite.

"Amazing you didn't use them when I showed up," Jaden muttered.

"The thought was tempting, believe me," Vulpes retorted. "Except I am in the same situation. Your friend over there and your robots would never let me leave alive. It's stalemate, Courier, so we might as well keep things cordial."

Jaden sighed. "Fine. So what do you want for this accommodation of yours?"

"Simply do what you were planning to do anyway: wipe out those degenerate Patriots and scatter the ashes!"

"But how does that benefit you? Other than giving the NCR a bloody nose that is?"

"Yours might be the hand that delivers the killing blow but the Legion will know who set it up," Vulpes smiled. "At least they will once the Frumentarii inform Caesar. Proof that we can still spite our enemies even after a heavy defeat and that the profligates aren't beyond our reach."

Jaden nodded in understanding. "And you get credit for being the greatest Frumentarius alive and your standing in the Legion goes sky high. Cute."

"My standing couldn't be much higher than it already is now," Vulpes' smile grew even wider. "Given that I'm now _Legate_!"

Jaden's eyes went wide at that news.

"Yes. Lucius is the new mighty Caesar and I am his right hand. All made possible by you I might add. By killing Lanius you actually did me a timely service; hence this meeting and my throwing you this rope. We may not trust each other but it isn't necessary if we can both get what we want, no?"

Jaden was stunned. He'd expected a trap or at least a catch with this meeting. He'd never dreamed that Vulpes had been deadly serious about his proposal. But then it did make sense given the way Vulpes operated. He could never match Lanius' physical ability but his guile and tactical acumen made him deadly; something like this would cement his reputation as a competent new Legate who could smash his foes at will in a different way. In return Jaden would get a new source of information and a secure eastern border, well for now at least.

"I never thought I'd say this but...yeah I think you're right," Jaden finally conceded. Politics and power plays made for some strange bedfellows at times.

Vulpes stood up. "Well then since we have a deal, I should take my leave. I have other business and rebellions to attend to. I take it I have safe conduct?"

Jaden nodded that he had and mouthed 'let him go' to Cass who nodded reluctantly.

Vulpes began walking toward his escorts and then paused. "By the way, since we're provisional allies now, I suppose I can give you a little more help. We've heard rumours that the Patriots are going to hit a very big caravan imminently. You're not moving anything big anytime soon, are you?"

Jaden's blood turned to pure ice. He knew Vulpes could only mean one thing and snatched up the file as he jumped up to leave.

"Shit, Cass we gotta go! Thanks Vulpes, talk to you again soon!"

Vulpes watched them run off and returned smirking to Gaius Varo and the rest of his centurion escorts.

"By the time he gets there it'll be too late, won't it?" Varo laughed cruelly.

"Yes. Even petty revenge has a good feeling to it, don't you think?"

**Bitter Springs road**

Boone was getting more and more uneasy. They'd only been on the road a few minutes; in fact they were just coming up to the old Gypsum train yard. It was a lot safer than it used to be since Red Lucy's hunters and Jaden had wiped out the Deathclaw nest and once they were past that they'd be on much safer turf around the city itself. But he couldn't shake the feeling in his gut that something was going to go wrong. Luckily his young charges weren't distracting him much, they'd been up half the night excited about the prospect of moving to a vault and most were tired out and sleeping.

Ashley shared the concern. She was starting to appreciate just how vulnerable these caravans were on the open road. Good thing she'd talked Boone into sneaking her a service rifle along with her 9mm; she didn't want to be defenceless out here.

"Good to know someone trusts me," she whispered to Boone.

"Enough to know you'll back me up when trouble starts," Boone revealed. "Like about now."

"What?!" Ashley tried to follow Boone's gaze. His keen sniper vision had picked up the 20 strong Patriot group set up at the old foreman's house near the conveyor. He quickly looked down his scope to gauge the threat.

"Get everyone off the carts now!"

Boone couldn't have known it but there was a lot of unease on the other side too. NCR Lieutenant Anders was beyond worried about this op. He was leading a group little better than Raider rabble. Aside from his old friend and field sergeant Tim Reynolds there wasn't one professional soldier among them. They were testing a weapon he knew very little about and, to top the whole lot, he was expected to take hostages at the end of this; something that didn't sit well with him at all. Still he knew their supply situation as well as the general, there wasn't much alternative and orders were orders. He just hoped to god these 5 new mortars they'd been given worked, a lot of the rest of their equipment sure as hell didn't.

"They've seen us!" Reynolds had spotted Boone's reaction through his binoculars.

Anders slammed his fist into the house wall in frustration. "Shit! It's too soon! Can we still hit most of them?"

"I think so."  
Anders nodded. There was nothing to lose now. "Then fire for effect!"

The Patriots quickly tilted the mortars to maximum range and dropped in the shells to fire.

Boone, along with Ashley and Gilles, was wasting no time in pulling all the kids off their cart. Due to Boone spotting the threat early their cart and the rear militia escort one was out of range. The front four were not as lucky as the Patriots scored direct hits. The shells weren't explosive; instead they burst open on impact and thick clouds of red/orange gas started hissing into the air. A second and third wave of shells hit in quick succession and soon all 4 of the other carts were immersed in a thick cloud.

"That's not just smoke! Stay back!" Boone was torn. He wanted to go in and get the others out but his caution advised against it. This was soon proved justified as he could hear violent coughing and retching from inside the cloud. Soon he had his hands full holding back the panic stricken kids from going in after their parents; luckily the wind was blowing the other way so the cloud wasn't rushing onto them.

At first Anders couldn't see much from his vantage point at the house as the gas cloud obscured most of his vision.

"What now? We just wait?" Reynolds asked.

"Until it clears and we take out any stragglers, then we call up the Vertibirds to transport the hostages...oh holy god!"

"What?" Reynolds raised his binoculars and soon wished he hadn't. 2 refugees were crawling out of the cloud choking up blood; it was almost as if they were puking their guts out. 30 seconds later, after a few last painful gasps and twitches, they expired.

"No...it's impossible! It wasn't supposed to..."

Anders and Reynolds looked at each other in horror at what they'd just done. Little did they know it but their gas was 100% toxic and extremely haemorrhagic. There weren't going to be any hostages left alive to take.

"MURDERING MOTHERFUCKERS!" Riker's booming enraged voice was the last thing one mortar crew heard before his minigun shredded them into bloody sushi.

The Aces had jumped off their cart and flanked the Patriots while they had stood watching and they were _pissed_. They'd seen some victims come out of the cloud on their side and that had been enough to send them into a battle fury, firing at full automatic without mercy.

Anders and Reynolds, motivated by fear and self-preservation, turned tail and ran. They had no loyalty to their wasteland lackeys and used the time to flee toward Vault 34 as the Aces massacred the remaining Patriots, assisted by the 4 Securitrons who emerged from the gas cloud in support.

Up above Jaden's Vertibird had just arrived and came in for a fast landing. The downdraft from the rotors helped to clear the gas away and revealed a scene even Dante or Poe would have struggled to picture. Nothing in the cloud had survived; all 4 carts and the surrounding road were awash with blood and corpses who had all died in agony. Many had literally drowned in their own blood as it had filled their lungs, their faces frozen in agonised expressions.

Even the normally tough Cass couldn't look at the sight for more than 10 seconds before she collapsed to her knees and threw up. Jaden, choking back tears and bile of his own, quickly ran to the back of the convoy to find a stone faced Boone staring at the massacre like he was frozen. Ashley and Captain Gilles were holding back the screaming and hysterical survivors; Ashley was barely holding back the tears and Gilles couldn't. Tears were streaming down her face as she vainly attempted to comfort the now orphaned kids; she knew they'd have nightmares for the rest of their lives.

"Not again," Boone finally managed to get out. "God, not AGAIN!"  
Jaden wasn't able to stop his own tears flowing as he heard that...

**Mountainside near Vault 34**

Anders and Reynolds, ashen faced and near traumatised, were walking south like zombies. The images of the dying refugees would haunt them forever.

Reynolds couldn't stop blubbing. "Oh fuck...what have we done?"

"Tim, calm down," Anders weakly tried.

"Calm down!? We just butchered god knows how many refugees and you're telling me to calm down?"  
Anders grabbed Reynolds by his shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "Sergeant, it wasn't us! We didn't know, we couldn't have known! We'd have never done that if we had! I don't know what the fuck happened back there..."

"Well then allow me to tell you."

Both of them whipped their heads round to see Rowan trailing behind them smirking all the way to the bank.

Anders was confused. "Wait a minute. You were the one who supplied us with that stuff!"  
"The Van Graffs did actually," Rowan informed him. "Omar and I gave them the formula and they made it for us. They thought it was a cheap way to get back at the Courier with no consequences. Except that there will be a lot of consequences."

"What do you mean?" Anders stomach was sinking fast.

"Well we told them that we'd cover their tracks about their involvement; well we lied. The Courier won't have any trouble tracing the shells back to a Van Graff company, we saw to that. Oh and who used the weapon? That's right, Patriot terrorists led by the same fool of a general who should have quit when he had the chance!" Rowan sneered as she held up a Codac 9000. She had enough photographs of the whole thing to fill ten front pages.

"You fucking bitch! You did all this!" Anders roared in rage. "What are you? A Legion whore trying to set us up? Answer me!"

Rowan gave a mock insulted look in return. "You throw me in with those skirt wearing idiots? Please. The Bull and the Bear: both old world trash and each as stupid and worthless as the other. I'm part of the future."

Anders drew his 10mm sidearm and pointed it straight at her. "So who do you work for?"

"The force that will soon rain death and purification on your pathetic little obsolete republic. In fact, you and that maggot you call a leader have laid the foundation for it to happen. Now you've indiscriminately slaughtered poor innocent civilians and with a banned chemical weapon no less, the mortal damage to your republic's reputation is complete."

"We never planned or authorised something like this!" Reynolds had found his voice again.

Rowan snorted. "You and I know that, yes. But does anyone else know, or more to the point will they even care? I saw everything back there, you know, including the Courier himself arriving to inspect the carnage. Now, stop me if I'm jumping the gun, but I don't think Jaden Storm or anyone else in his government is going to be interested in explanations as to what was or was not intended. They will be out for blood and revenge...which I've already arranged for them to get."

A sick feeling hit Anders. "You didn't...?"  
"Oh we did, through contacts we have in the Legion that is. The Courier now has everything. Your strength or lack of it that is, your financial backers, your leader's identity and, most of all, where you're based. I'd give you 2 days, 3 at most, before he sends your group to oblivion. Then he'll cut the republic's throat by severing the dam link and your caravans. The beginning of the end of the NCR and we owe most of it to you. Congratulations!"

"Not happening bitch!" Anders raged. "You came here all alone and unarmed, tell us all that for free and expect to walk away? And you call us stupid?!"

"Yeah. When we take you into the general we'll have all we need to undo some of this damage," Reynolds had regained his voice and it was full of anger. "We'll let the men lose on you for this when we get back! Interrogation with free fun...for them that is!"

Rowan's face went stone cold. "Ah yes and that leads me to you. The only loose ends on this. The only one that's going to have fun is me especially since I've got no reason to hide in this camouflage any longer!"  
Anders cocked his gun as she drew a combat knife from her waist. "Don't even think about it!"  
"This isn't for you. You organics are so blind at times!"

Both men watched in morbid amazement as she raised the knife to the left side of her head and started cutting her own flesh. But no blood was spurting from the wound and the 'flesh' was peeling away like it was rubber. But of course that wasn't the worst of it as 'Rowan' revealed her true face and colours. The whole left side of her true face was solid metal with a red cybernetic eye.

"What the fuck are you!?" Both men were involuntarily shaking with fear.

"Lieutenant Rho, second generation primary cyborg," she flashed them a classic cold smile with the organic side of her face. "And the harbinger of your overdue deletion!"


	7. Counterstrike ready and phantom revealed

This fic is flowing better than my first so far, it's update time again. Please keep all the reviews/ideas coming guys. They make the pain worth it.

Berzerkoid: Gross it was but that was my plan. Anyone who thinks chemical warfare is humane and a good idea should read something like that first. Yes this does tie in and it's a direct sequel.

Zeref Alemer: I'm enjoying this fic a little more than the first; there's more to work with. I'm definitely finishing it!

Vect the Atoner: Not quite but it is a derivative of the Cloud. The cyborgs stole the plans from the Big Empty's central files. I always resolve Boone's quest in the game if I team up with him and I don't recall the officer responsible ever being named in that situation. I suppose this is just one possible scenario but I try to make it believable.

oddliver: nice idea and I'll keep it in mind. The war is certainly going to be bloody...but Jaden is about to get a little more help...

sgtranglin: Yes I know the one to which you're referring; I did get some inspiration from Red Slayer and his fic is among my favourites. Don't read it unless you have a strong stomach though!

eaglescorch: Don't worry, I'm certainly not quitting while I'm on a roll!

Well back to the fic and btw elmo, you were right in your last review! The horror of Vault 66 has crossed the continent but so has its mortal enemy...

**Near Vault 34**

Ironically it was the Dark Phantom who discovered the bodies of Anders and Reynolds an hour later. He guessed the state of the bodies would confuse the locals but he knew what had gone down here. One look at the condition of the victims was enough for him. He was pondering what to do next when he received a call through the handheld radio on his belt.

"Yes? You're still in Novac? All right stay there I'll come to you." The Phantom chose his next words carefully just in case anyone was listening in. "They're here all right. The locals don't have any idea yet. Alright stay there, I'm coming."

He activated his stealth field again and started southwest. If this was any indication his old enemies were almost ready to move and time was running out...

**Patriot camp**

"What the fuck happened out there?" Oliver was asking for about the twentieth time. Precise information from the north had been sporadic but it was clear that all the party he'd sent was gone and the raid had failed.

"We don't know, sir," Stevens, another of his NCR Lieutenants, replied weakly. "We've heard nothing at all since they left."  
"An entire squad can't just disappear!" Oliver retorted.

"Impossible or not, they are missing," Stevens reiterated. "Perhaps they are dead or taken prisoner, what does it matter since it's pretty clear we didn't succeed."

"Anything else to say besides the goddamned obvious?" Oliver snapped.

"Well only a suggestion but try calling Cronus or the local radio. Maybe they have something."

Oliver turned on Radio New Vegas first and wasn't prepared for the shock as he got Jaden's voice halfway through an announcement.

"...with this cowardly and devastating attack the Patriots have crossed the line. Any hope they had for negotiations has died along with those innocent refugees on that caravan! Accordingly the New Vegas government is now offering bounties for anyone in Patriot uniform killed; 500 caps each. In addition the Van Graffs are now official enemies of the New Vegas Alliance. All trade with them is prohibited. If any of their goods enter New Vegas territory they will be seized. If any members of their family enter then they are legitimate targets at 20000 caps a head. As for the craven coward who leads this terrorist army, 'General' Oliver, he is now considered nothing more than trash to be collected: 50000 caps is now being offered for him in any condition!"  
Oliver's mouth dropped open in horror. How could everything have deteriorated so badly in less than a day? It had all started well, his people choking off the Courier's trade caravans and would have run the nascent nation into the ground before too long. Now nearly half of his force was dead, his support from home had been yanked and there were sizable bounties on his head and those of his men.

Although Oliver hated the Courier with a passion he had to admit this was an inspired move on his part. His followers' loyalty would be tested enough knowing they had prices on their heads and it would make other wastelanders and mercs think twice about joining him. The reward for him was an even bigger problem. It was so rich even the most loyal man around would be tempted to try and collect on it. How the hell the Courier had found him out was beyond him, perhaps one of his men had turned? Well the cause was of no importance, all that mattered was the result which wasn't that good.

Suddenly he developed a searing headache as the magnitude of his problems became clear. He had less than six days of supplies and only half of his group left; nothing like enough to even dent Jaden's New Vegas Alliance forces. He had only one other hope.

He switched the radio's frequency and tried to raise Omar Cronus. He'd come through with the goods and help before and he sure as hell needed him now.

**The Hub-NCR**

"Yes, I heard the situation...It's not my fault General, I didn't prepare those canisters, did I? They came from the Van Graffs; we both put our trust in them."

'Omar Cronus', aka cyborg leader Omicron, was calmly smiling as he lied through his teeth to the almost hysterical general. Rho had arrived to bring him the good news from Vegas so he was up to date and had been expecting this panic call.

"Are you saying they betrayed us?" Oliver ranted.

"I'd say they used us. Gloria's younger sister used an amateur hit team to try and eliminate the Courier and suffice it to say it didn't end well; for them and her that is. I daresay they expected you to hit a military base or the Courier himself instead of a civilian caravan so instead of the knockout gas we get lethal toxin."

"So now what? We didn't take any hostages and that little bastard's put a price on MY head! He's increased his patrols too, my men can't even sneak out of this valley without tripping over those robots of his. You must send more help!"  
Omicron sniggered. "You'll find there's surprisingly little I must do General. I'm just a private contractor, a middleman, an arranger. I'm certainly not a miracle worker and since your support has recently been cut off I see no way you can afford my services anymore."

"Wait! You can't just cut me off and leave me stranded like this!" Oliver screamed.

"I think you'll find that I can. You have Vertibirds, do you not? I suggest you use them and come home. From where I sit you can't win now; your little gambit has failed. Withdraw and try again some other time. I'll still be here when you have the caps. Goodbye." Omicron disconnected and cut Oliver off in mid-rant.

"About time we disposed of that fool," A coldly smiling Rho entered the office just in time to hear the angry radio exchange.

Omicron returned the smile. "Very true. You did well in New Vegas, Rho. I just heard from the editor of the NCR Times, he was most impressed with your pictures. He'll run the full story in the morning; should do the NCR no end of damage and with its own people too. Now all we have to do is sit back, watch things play out and wait for the good news. I'm certain the Imperator will be very pleased."

"With both of us," Rho smugly agreed."I'd better stay hidden in the back in case we get visitors."  
Omicron nodded in approval. In truth he couldn't wait until he could leave and dispose of his fake face as well. He hadn't fought a good battle in some time. Still, with what was coming he knew he wouldn't have much longer to wait.

**NCR embassy-the Strip: 6 hours later**

Of all people Crocker never expected to be visited by Craig Boone, much less have an official diplomatic meeting with him. Crocker guessed this would be another difficult meeting.

"Is Jaden otherwise engaged?" It didn't help that he put his foot in it on the first question.

"Unfortunately yes. He's still comforting the survivors of the last Patriot raid," Boone snarled. "He still had 3 kids to see when I left."  
Without further ado he angrily tossed several photographs of the victims on Crocker's desk.

"Oh my god!" Crocker had difficulty controlling his stomach when he saw them.

"I thought the NCR had banned the use of all chemical and biological weapons, Ambassador," Boone was almost shaking in anger as he dropped one of the used shells onto the desk along with copies of the dossier Vulpes had given Jaden. "So how the fuck do you explain all this?"

"I can't!" Crocker said weakly. "You know that this would have no official sanction and..."  
"Explain that to those kids or Jaden's government, I'm sure they'll be impressed!" Boone let the sarcasm drip from his every word. "I'm here to give you a heads up: expect big trouble ahead. If you've got any shares in the Van Graffs or anything owned by General Oliver, then cash up fast because the stock's about to crash!"

With that he strode out to meet up with Ashley at the door leaving a dismayed Crocker behind looking at the evidence. The shell was certainly of Van Graff manufacture, it had their logos all over it. He got sicker still as he read through the file and put his head in his hands. He knew the involvement of the Van Graffs and Oliver precluded the possibility of the NCR getting away with its reputation intact. Whether the Patriots were wiped out or not Jaden's government would certainly demand some reprisal and, from where he stood, Crocker didn't see any way Jaden could avoid granting that; he was politically trapped.

He quickly began writing another urgent dispatch home but he had a real bad feeling that any action now was too little too late.

**Lucky 38 Penthouse**

"Jaden!" A worried Dr Usanagi and Veronica were waiting for him as he came out of the elevator along with Cass, Arcade and Raul.

"Sorry Doc but the session will have to wait," Jaden had gone past the grieving stage and was now in complete fury. After helping Julie Farkas and the Followers with the young survivors he'd ended up giving them the third floor of the 38 as a temporary counselling centre until something could be worked out. He'd then gone straight on to an emergency cabinet meeting in the cocktail lounge with the heads of the three families and the King and from there to Radio New Vegas to deliver their latest decisions; namely open bounties and full warfare on the Patriots.

"That bad, huh?" Veronica hadn't seen Jaden as riled as this.

"If you'd been there Veronica, you wouldn't be asking that," Jaden replied coldly.

"Now what?" Cass asked.

"Now the gloves come off," Jaden promised. "Oliver and the Van Graffs have crossed the line and we start answering them now. I've got to go to Nellis to enlist the Boomers and check progress on a back project I've got going. If it works...General wait and see won't have to much longer! Yes Man, send the deployment signal to the Securitrons and have them move south."  
Raul was starting to worry too. "Can we do anything else, boss? You shouldn't push yourself too hard."

"Don't worry, there's a bed where I'm going. You won't be left out I promise, keep monitoring the radio here, I might need you tomorrow and if I do I'll send transport."

With that he went back down in the elevator all the way to the lobby to meet up with Boone and Ashley.

"I can't believe you took a risk like that without me," Boone chided Jaden. The others had brought him up to speed on events in Novac.

"With Vulpes? I thought it was worth the risk and I was right. I just wish I could have got to you, I feel like I failed you..."  
Boone put a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "Nothing you could have done. Not in time anyway. I thought you should know; the two Patriots that got away? Scouts found them near Vault 34, both dead."

"How?" Jaden wondered.

"One gutted like a fish and the other had both his hands broken then his neck," Boone seemed confused. "Both had guns and they managed to draw them but it didn't look like they hit anything. No blood or bodies aside from theirs."

"The Dark Phantom?"

Boone shrugged. "Maybe. We can't say for sure. Anyway I sent the Aces south as you wanted. They'll be camping overnight and waiting for us to join them in the morning."

Jaden nodded in approval. "Perfect. Then I need to go and have a talk with the Boomers. I've got a proposition for them."

"I'll head south then with the Enclave Vertibird and join the Aces at their camp. Are you going to be all right getting to us on your own?"  
"I survived the Divide on my own," Jaden allowed himself a small smile. "I can handle this. Don't worry so much. One other thing you should know before we start this..."

Jaden passed Boone another piece of paper from Vulpes' dossier. Boone quickly read through it and his eyebrows hardened into a glare. "Is this right? Can we be sure?"

"We can't check up on the raw intel from here but everything else in the file's been right up to now and Vulpes had no reason to lie to us," Jaden reasoned. "It does explain a lot of things; like what happened at Boulder City. I don't know about you but it doesn't surprise me at all."  
Boone nodded in agreement. "Then it's time we made good on our oath. I'll meet you at the rendezvous point tomorrow."

"Mind if I tag along?" Ashley spoke up for the first time.

"Why would you want to do that?" Jaden asked cautiously.

"Because I care and I'm as disgusted by this as all of you are!" Ashley shot back with passion. "Because of that greedy fat son of a bitch those poor people are dead and my country's name's going to be dragged through the shit! Give me a chance and I'll cut their names into him!"

Boone nodded. "Sounds good enough to me, right Jaden?"

"Fine, you're in. I'll meet you both at the Aces' camp tomorrow."

Ashley turned to Boone as Jaden walked away and through the gate. "What was that he gave you? Something important?"

"See for yourself."

Ashley sucked in a breath as she read the paper. "I can't believe it!"

"Unfortunately I can," Boone muttered. "I don't exactly want to and I don't put much trust in Legion good faith but Jaden was right. Everything else in that file Vulpes gave us is authentic; scary when you think how far they've infiltrated the NCR."  
Ashley nodded. "So now what?"

"What else? We go to the camp and meet up with the Aces. Then tomorrow all sins will be answered for..."

**Nellis air base**

"You're offering us what?!" Raquel couldn't believe her ears. Nor could Pearl or any of the other Boomers in the hangar. Loyal and Jack's eyes had lit up like it was Christmas morn.

Jaden smiled. "Like I said, I've got some Vertibirds with your name on them if you can make yourselves available tomorrow morning. I'm also going to need that bomber of yours ready to go too. "  
"We thought that might be the case with what you gave us today," Loyal reasoned. His blood had chilled when Jaden told him exactly what his militia had brought them. "We made the switch safely with no accidents. But are you sure you want to do this?"

"There's a saying in battle: turnabout is fair play," Jaden said coldly. "I've no other use for it and I can't think of anyone who deserves it more."

"Fair enough," Loyal and the rest of the Boomers had seen the horrific results of the attack on the convoy and weren't for arguing.

"Our people will stand with you tomorrow," Pearl promised. "This offer is too generous to refuse and we can't let what these Patriots have done go unpunished."

"Thank you. Whatever birds we get are yours to keep. All I ask is help protecting our borders when we need it," Jaden smiled warmly. This had gone well.

"That's freely given, child. You've done more for us than we could have ever dreamed."

With a deal firmly in the bag Jaden left the airbase and walked out into the wrecked base barracks that acted as the Boomers' artillery zone. He pulled out what looked like a toy gun but it was, in fact, his way to return to the Big Empty: the Big Mountain Transportalponder. He'd follow up a few things with the Think Tank, stay the night there and join Boone and the Aces first thing in the morning.

**Ranger HQ-NCR**

"Jesus Christ..." Even the tough Chief Koenig couldn't help but feel ill as he saw the photos Crocker had sent by fast diplomatic courier.

"We're right in the brown stuff now," Hsu warned. "The Patriots have gone too far this time."  
All 3 of them knew he was right; one of the worst case scenarios had now come to pass and in the worst possible way. Innocent civilians were dead and at they were from the very same place as the NCR's last PR disaster had happened. Lightning had struck twice; proverbially speaking.

"What about the Corporal?" Moore asked with some concern.

"That's about the only bright spot in this. She's working with the Courier at the moment; he hasn't told his government about her. In this climate it's the most sensible thing he could have done," Koenig mused. "Crocker thinks that we aren't going to get out of this clean, not now. There'll be repercussions after the Alliance is through with Oliver that's for sure and something tells me that won't be long off."

"How's that?" Hsu wondered.

"From what few sources I've got nearly every Securitron is being mobilised and the militia at Camp McCarran is on high alert. Unless my men are missing something big the whole of the New Vegas Alliance military is gearing up for some heavy duty action. If I were to make a guess at this juncture I'd say they know where Oliver and the rest of his Patriots are and they're going for the knockout punch," Koenig looked grim as he said this.

Hsu caught on fast. "And once they're through with that they'll turn their attention to us."  
"You think he'll attack us?" Moore asked in alarm.

"He doesn't need to," Koenig reminded them. "All he needs to do is cut us off from Hoover Dam and slap sanctions on us and our economy tips into recession, if not depression. Hanlon's audit made that clear and if he can find all that out so can Jaden Storm."

"Would he really do it given our past relationship?" Hsu was grasping at straws somewhat.

"I would if I were him," Koenig muttered as he looked at the pictures again. "Wouldn't you after something like this? A horrific and unprovoked attack with chemical weapons we shouldn't even have? All done by a militia claiming to fight in our name and secretly backed by one of our trading companies?"

"No doubt on that either I suppose?" Even Moore was starting to sound grim too.

"None. They presented Crocker with one of the shells used in the attack. The Van Graffs' name and manufacturing specs are all over it. Whether our government was involved or not won't make any difference, not to the Alliance government or its people. They'll force the Courier to cut us off even if he doesn't want it himself. You'd best warn the President, tell him there's a storm warning on the way if he'll pardon the expression."

**Mojave drive in-early next day**

Jaden had risen with the dawn, dressed into his duster, Divide rebreather and headband and teleported back from Big Mountain. After mentally reminding himself to try and fix Klein's volume control next time round he headed east over the hills to meet up with Boone and the Aces who'd camped overnight at an old Legion safe house. He was eagerly awaiting the upcoming battle and for more than one reason.

"Jaden! You made it!" Layla was happy to see their boss knowing his capability on the battlefield.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world!" Jaden smiled grimly as he checked his 12.7mm and strapped a prize modified katana to his belt. "Where are the other Aces?"  
"All scouting Searchlight airfield," Boone replied as he and Ashley checked their guns. "We should join them, after taking a little Rad-X."

10 minutes later they were all on a ridge with a clear scope view over the airfield.

"5 Vertibirds in all," Blaine reported. "Only 2 guards and 5 pilots. I guess they didn't expect us to find them. Not many people come out here with the town swimming in radiation."

Ashley snorted. "Typical Oliver arrogance though. 'My plan's perfect, I can wait and see down here all day long and that punk will never find me', feh!"

That caused giggles all round. After the events of the previous day everyone was starting to warm to the 'NCR tough girl' as she'd become known.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Boone wasn't worried about Ashley's capabilities; just the risk of her freezing up at the thought of shooting fellow NCR.

"If I get Oliver in my sights I'll blow his balls off," Ashley growled. "That goes for his men too. They aren't fighting for the republic just themselves. I'll show them what NCR does to traitors!"

"Ok boss, how do you want this done?" Layla asked now that debate was over.

"Clean, nothing fancy. We take them out, we call in the Boomers and then we cut Oliver's escape route," Jaden smiled.

"He's down in the valley?" Riker couldn't believe it.

"He is according to the file. That's why in two hours this area will be swimming in Securitrons. Yes Man's spent the last day moving them down here a few at a time. The militia should be joining them soon after that and once Daisy's dropped off the Boomers she'll be headed to Vegas to pick up Arcade and the others."

"So this is really it?" Chelsea grinned in anticipation.

"Yeah. Today we'll do what should have been done at the dam; finish the Patriots and their joke of a general once and for all. Let's do it!"

"No problem. Ready Boone?" Blaine asked as he aimed his suppressed sniper rifle.

"Ready."

Both aimed at the two guards standing near the old traffic control tower and scored perfect headshots in unison. 2 more shots from Chelsea and Layla disposed of a pair of pilots who saw the guards go down.

By now Riker and Jaden were inside the airfield's fence. Riker, subtle as ever, opened up into another pair of pilots with his minigun. The last one tried to run but ended up fleeing straight into the business end of Jaden's customised katana that pierced his heart and killed him instantly.

"Clear boss," Riker reported three minutes later after checking around and inside the parked Vertibirds.

"Right!" Jaden grabbed his radio. "We're all clear, come on in. These rides need some pilots!"

Daisy wasted no time in parking her Vertibird smoothly alongside and dropped off Loyal, Jack and several other flight suit wearing Boomers.

"There you are, Loyal. 5 of them, all yours!"

Loyal couldn't believe it. "You're the best thing to happen to us in years, Jaden! If there's anything we can ever do..."

"For now get these things airborne and stick around. We'll turn their own toys back on them when the fighting starts."

"Jaden! Check this out!" Layla called from one of the Vertibirds.

Jaden ran over to see what the fuss was about. He didn't have to look long. The back of the Vertibird was piled high with weapon crates. A quick check of the other four revealed they too were full of guns, explosives and grenades.

"Looks like we might have stopped a major offensive," Boone reasoned.

"Airport, this is base camp. Why the hell haven't you guys taken off yet?"

The sudden call over the Vertibird's radio took everyone by surprise. Jaden recovered his wits first and grinned as he got an idea. "Allow me."

"Airport, will you get off your ass and..."

"It's no problem. We're just firing up now," Jaden smoothly lied, hoping they wouldn't pick up on his voice over the radio. He needn't have worried.

"Ok fine. Get going, drop those crates off and get back here fast. General Oliver wants to be long gone from here by the end of today. Over and out."

Jaden snickered as he turned off the radio. "Yeah he'll be long gone by the end of today all right. Just not how he expected! Ok let's get these birds up."

"What about us, boss?" Riker could hardly wait.

"We're going down to Cottonwood overlook. We'll get the best view down the valley from there and we can cut off any scouts. Everyone up for this?"  
"Are we ever!" Ashley said what they pretty much all were thinking.

"Then let's go. Oliver goes down today!"

**Brotherhood of Steel bunker**

Paladin Ramos was starting to wish he was out in the field now that the lockdown had been lifted. Guard duty on the main door, while necessary, was boring in long shifts. Checking the clock he saw the latest patrol was due back anytime; well not strictly a patrol. Knight Torres had gone out on a scout and procurement run.

"Paladin Ramos?"

"Welcome back Torres," Ramos greeted her over the intercom. She was bang on time. "Any problems?"  
"Just one," Torres' voice seemed nervy and that wasn't lost on Ramos. "Can you open up?"

"Sure kid, hang on." He quickly switched frequencies. "Get a couple of men up here. We could have a problem at the door."

One minute later two more paladins, armed with gauss rifles, joined him and he released the lock on the door. It opened to reveal a nervous Knight Torres apparently standing alone.

"Are you all right?"

"She's fine. Not a bad hiding place you've got here." The voice had Ramos looking every which way until the Dark Phantom decloaked directly behind Torres.

Ramos and his two escorts raised their rifles instantly. "Identify yourself!"

"With pleasure."

The Phantom tossed an object at Ramos which he caught deftly with his left hand. His eyes bulged in surprise as he looked at it and identified it as one of their holotags.

"Leon Kallan, Paladin Commander, eastern chapter?" Ramos' disbelief quickly disappeared and he snapped into a salute. "Hail...and welcome. It's been awhile since we've seen anyone from another chapter."

"Yes, so I can imagine," the Lone Wanderer replied before turning to Torres. "Sorry about the rough persuasion."

"I don't feel so bad now knowing I was caught by one of our own," Torres sighed in relief. "That'll teach me to be stealthier!"

"Don't worry about it this time; no damage done and I won't tell Hardin if you don't," Ramos reassured her before turning back to Leon. "Now how can we help you?"

"Is your Elder here? I need to speak with him urgently."

Ramos nodded. "Yes he's here. He hardly ever leaves. What's all this about?"

"The future of the Brotherhood...and everything else in this wasteland," Leon replied without a trace of humour. "And we don't have all day!"


	8. Operation Turnabout: Patriots' fall

Unbelievable! I put up my next part as normal and I get over 10 reviews, 7 favourites and follows? Thanks guys! To borrow from the Hunger Games I'm now the fanfic writer who's on fire thanks to you! Big thanks to Oddliver, DN506 and Vect the Atoner for their ideas; they really helped shape this part. Also big thanks to the FF staff for fixing last week's upload outage in quick time and on a weekend no less.

Oddliver: You're a good fountain of ideas and I'll keep that one in mind too.

ejthepinoy and aky141: Glad I'm making your day bringing them in. The Brotherhood will be included a little more in future parts, they're sure as hell going to need them.

Vect the Atoner: Moore is a hardass, no doubt about it, but she strikes me as a realist one too. She knows the quandary the NCR's in and assassinating the Courier would only get him replaced by someone even more hostile, something they can't afford. As for your other point...well read on and see how that turns out!

GcNm: Not in the game, that's true, but this is post game and he was about to lose everything. Unchecked power and ambition are notorious in their ability to corrupt and he is no exception.

John Stall: I can reveal a little and Leon isn't alone. I'll reveal a little more in 1 or 2 parts as I'll have to do a 'filler' part between Steel Vengeance events and this fic.

eaglescorch: Whoa tiger, the cyborgs haven't revealed their hand yet! That point isn't far away now though and, suffice it to say, they have a few more aces in their deck this time so both big heroes are needed on the team.

Sherman2396: I was going to point you to Steel Vengeance but you found it on your own. Rest assured I'm on a roll and not stopping.

**Cottonwood overlook**

It didn't take long for the Aces to spot Oliver's camp through their binoculars.

"Can't believe this guy, can you?" Blaine snorted. "The ground may be flat and it's out of sight but where's his out route? That's not a camp, it's a tomb!"

"His loss," Jaden smiled as he knew Blaine was right. He'd explored the valley awhile back. There were a few caves leading to a radioactive mountaintop at the back but no other way out besides the river.

"Are there any boats down there?" Boone asked.

"Not that I can see, none that float anyway," Blaine grinned. "He's boxed himself in. Must have figured we'd never find him and he could get out anytime via the airfield."

"Which he can't now since his birds have flown early!" Chelsea snickered.

"Speaking of which," Jaden reached for his hand radio. "Boomer 1, how are things up there? Getting used to them yet?"  
"No problem," Loyal answered. "It's a little different from the simulators but it's nothing we can't handle. Our ride in has gone back to Vegas to pick up your friends."

"Good. Alright take your birds a few miles north, get used to them and be back in an hour," Jaden ordered. "The rest of the army will have shown up by then and Operation Turnabout will be ready."

"Operation Turnabout?" Riker asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The most appropriate name I could think up," Jaden explained. "In an hour this valley will be sealed up tighter than a steel drum. No one's getting in or out by air or by ground. Black Mountain will be monitoring the radio frequencies and the radar so they won't be sneaking anything by us or through us."

"The river's still open to them," Ashley pointed out.

"To go where?" Jaden countered. "All that's over there is Legion turf and some other dangerous wildlife. Not that they'd get that far. Our Vertibirds would have a field day popping them in the water."

"Jaden...are you going to appeal for him to surrender?" Boone asked.

Jaden knew that was a pointed question. "Yes. I know, in a few ways, that I shouldn't. But I have to be seen to be fair and give them a chance. That's a past rule of warfare."  
"Why Jaden?" Layla asked angrily. "That's the rule for people who understand the rules which these bastards don't because they already broke them. Those pricks are terrorists! They killed innocent people and by becoming Raiders they've broken the _republic's_ laws for Christ's sake! Am I so far off base that I'm missing something here?"

"No Layla you're not wrong. In fact Boone and me have got a more personal beef with Mr Oliver as well as what's been going on lately. But we have to be bigger than that and show the world the New Vegas Alliance can play by rules even when our enemies won't."

Boone nodded in approval. "Fair enough Jaden. But if they won't give it up?"  
"I'm betting they won't," Ashley agreed.

Jaden shrugged. "Their funeral...quite literally. I may be willing to give them a chance but they're not getting out of there free, not after what they've done. Either they surrender or what they did to those people gets done to them; complete turnabout. Now is that definitive enough for everyone here?"  
Riker grinned and answered for all of them. "Yes."

"Good. Ok people, have a drink, put your feet up and get some rest. Judgement day starts in an hour."

**Brotherhood of Steel bunker**

Elder Mcnamara was at a complete loss for words at current events. First a Paladin Commander from another chapter showing up out of the blue and then the incredible tale he'd just told, backed up by video evidence which they'd just viewed.

"Don't believe it? Understandable, I can barely believe it myself and I lived through that battle," Leon reasoned.

"So what do you expect us to do?" Mcnamara asked. "We haven't seen anything of them yet."  
"I'd be amazed if you had. They're real good at staying hidden when they want to be," Leon answered. "All I'm asking is to keep vigilant. I just dropped this in as a courtesy between chapters and to give you a warning. What you actually do with it is up to you. Now I have to keep going, spread the news as far as I can and get more help before they make their move."

"Whether or not this story is true is irrelevant for now," Hardin butted in. "The real question is what to do with you."  
"And that means?" Leon's voice had gone several degrees colder which Hardin missed or unwisely chose to ignore.

"What else? You're a member of a chapter that turned its back on the rest of the Brotherhood. They abandoned the Codex and left us to fight the NCR alone!"  
"All of which is yesterday's news," Leon snorted. "I wasn't even around then and had no part of it. I'm dealing with the present not the ancient past."

Hardin pressed on regardless. "That may well be but it doesn't alter the fact that you still belong to a renegade faction of traitors and have to be held to account!"

Hardin foolishly thought being on his home ground and having numbers made him safe to press this...big mistake.

"And who's going to do that? You?" Leon scoffed. It was obvious he wasn't intimidated or impressed.

"If necessary," Hardin put one hand on his rifle. "Don't make this any more difficult than it has to...urrkkk!"

His sentence was choked off, quite literally, by Leon's left hand grabbing him by the throat and hoisting him into the air.

"That was a threat, I believe," Leon's voice had now reached sub zero. "And I don't like threats."

The two paladins at the door reacted quickly and aimed their rifles. "Hey put him down and give up! You're outnumbered so it's over!"

"No," Leon sneered. "Now it's _fun_!"

Before anyone could stop he flung Hardin straight at the two guards with amazing strength. They didn't have time to dodge before his body slammed into them and knocked all three into a dazed heap on the floor.

A dazed Hardin tried to pick himself up but didn't get far before Leon's boot heel came down on his throat.

"Now what were you saying again? I don't think I could have heard you right!" Leon's voice was now full of menace.

"Please, stand down! You've made your point," Mcnamara pleaded as he jumped to his feet.

"I'm not sure that I have," Leon snarled as he increased weight on his foot and causing Hardin to choke. "Any more threats or talk out of this bag of hot air and I'll deflate him permanently!"

"All right," Mcnamara conceded. He wasn't about to risk angering Leon anymore than they already had. "Please release him and stand down and we'll do the same."  
"Fine."

Leon removed his foot and stepped away leaving Hardin gasping for air.

"You're letting him get away with this, Elder?" Hardin rasped.

If Hardin was expecting sympathy or support he was in for a disappointment.

"From where I stand I don't have much choice unless I wanted a bloodbath in here," Mcnamara retorted. "I certainly will not have that over your breach in protocol. In case you'd forgotten _I _am still the Elder here despite your desires and plots to the contrary!"

Hardin gasped in surprise as Mcnamara kept chewing him out.

"What, did you think I was blind as well as deaf? I've known about your plans to try and declare me unfit for awhile now!"

Mcnamara had, in fact, been informed of Hardin's designs by Jaden who'd had no liking for Hardin ever since he'd tried to convince him to depose Mcnamara. The attempt on his and Veronica's life after he'd refused and he helped Veronica with her efforts got Jaden suspicious and, after a few discreet inquiries with Ramos and Torres, had discovered that the paladins had been Hardin's supporters: something that Jaden took very personally. He'd ratted Hardin out to Mcnamara the very next day.

"Let me remind you of a few things, Paladin," Mcnamara went on coldly. "Firstly I am Elder and, as such, I am the one who decides when and where treason charges are to be made. Secondly given our guest has equal or greater rank than you then you had no right of arrest without my authority. Oh, and finally, if I hear of any more incidents like this or I find you attempting to undermine me again it is _you_ who will be facing treason charges, is that perfectly clear?"

"Yes Elder," A humiliated Hardin choked out.

"Good. My apologies for this...overreaction," Mcnamara turned back to Leon. "Many have not come to terms with the past or Lyons's chapter leaving us."  
"As long as your past doesn't affect my present again, no problem," Leon replied diplomatically. "As a goodwill gesture I'll give you the design specs for my armour. It should help you stay unnoticed on your procurement runs until you get this chapter back on its feet."

"We'd appreciate that," Mcnamara was grateful. "If this threat is as grave as you claim then you'll need more help than we can provide. I would suggest heading to New Vegas and Jaden Storm."  
"And he is?"  
"Once he was just an ordinary courier believe it or not. Now he is a paladin in our order and the nominal ruler of the New Vegas Alliance. If there is anyone who can help you it would be him."  
Leon had heard of Jaden in passing and over the New Vegas radio already. Hopefully he was all the rumours claimed him to be.

"In which case that'll be my next port of call. Until next time."

Half an hour later Leon walked out of the bunker to meet up with his escorts, Dan Kerrigan and Yuna Lawson, both also dressed in mk2 recon armour.

"Not much help from there then, Leon?" Dan had been an Enclave captain once, now he was a Brotherhood Knight Commander. He'd volunteered to go with Leon on this mission as he was somewhat familiar with the territory.

"No but then I was forewarned not to expect much," Leon replied. "They're not much better than the Outcasts back home."

"So now what?" Yuna sighed. She had gone from Baltimore vault dweller to Brotherhood Knight over the last three years. "We've been in this wasteland over a week and still no trace!"  
"Up to New Vegas to see a certain courier. According to the Elder here he's our best option for local help."

Dan had known Leon long enough to decipher that tone. "But you're obviously not convinced?"

"Besides the radio all we've heard are rumours and radio stations tend to embellish things. I should know having had Three Dog fawn all over me the last few years!"  
Yuna and Dan exchanged a knowing look. Jaden was going to be in for one hell of a hazing at Leon's hands when they met...

**Patriot camp**

General Oliver was now a seriously worried man. Between Cronus cutting him off and the events of the last few days he was eager to shut up shop and get out while he could. But now his Vertibirds were overdue; they should have been back from dropping off their spare equipment 15 minutes ago.

"Where the hell are they?" he barked at Stevens.

"I'll try and get them on the radio," Stevens sighed. He was getting tired of Oliver's tantrums. "Vertibird 1, this is base camp, what is your position?"

"Hello base camp. I'm afraid your Vertibirds aren't on the air right now; this is the New Vegas debt collector's agency. Oliver, your dues are a few weeks overdue and we're here to collect!"

"What?" Oliver lurched over to the radio himself. "Who the hell is this?"  
"Who do you think Oliver?" Jaden's angry voice replied. "Did you really think you'd escape my notice forever down there? Have a little look outside and you'll see what your situation is."

Oliver, now sweating like a pig, grabbed a hand radio before going outside his tent. His heart sank all the way down to his boots as he saw the cliff tops surrounding the valley. They were packed solid with Securitrons and the orange/black armoured New Vegas militia force.

"As you can see you're not getting away General," Jaden's voice came over the radio again. "Unless you think you can swim away that is. Now surrender immediately."

Oliver's face went purple with rage and fury. No way was he going to surrender to this road jockey twice!

"Sergeant, get those guns and the trench manned NOW!"

Oliver's remaining Patriots grabbed every gun and launcher available to them and took up positions either in the vast deep WW1 style trench that had been dug in front of the tent camp or at one of the 2 anti-air guns at each side of the trench.  
"What's that going to do, General?" Jaden was scornful. "Throwing your men's lives away just for your pride?"

Oliver saw red. "If you think I'm going to surrender and just give it up like that you've got another think coming you little bastard! The NCR allowed you to humiliate me once and I'm sure as hell not going to let you do it again!"

"Why should I bother trying to do that when you do such a good job yourself?" Jaden shot back. "There's nowhere to go even if you do get out. The NCR knows what you've been up to. All that'll be left for you is court martial and disgrace! You have nothing to fight for General. Your reputation is trashed and your army surrounded. Surrender!"

Oliver was about to fire another insult back when he saw the 5 Vertibirds descending from overhead.

He smiled for the first time in awhile. "Stevens, get them on the radio and tell them to land quickly! We can get out of this ye..."

Oliver's smile quickly disintegrated along with the 2 AA guns as the Vertibirds fired rocket salvos into them both.

To rub salt in the wound Jaden's voice came over the radio again. "You've probably figured this out but those Vertibirds are ours now. We appropriated them from the airport this morning and they now have Boomer crews! As I said you have no way out. Last chance, surrender General! I will not ask again!"  
Far from bringing Oliver back to reason this turn of events seemed to have pushed him over the edge. "I will NOT surrender to you, you turncoat worm! You're going to have to dig us out from here and I'll bleed your forces dry when you try it...and when I get my hands on you I'll see that you hang!"

Jaden snarled almost ferally when he heard that. "A pathetic promise that you won't keep, Oliver. I did try to be reasonable but since you wouldn't know reason if it head butted you, here's the consequences. This is all on you General. You did this!"

Up on the ridge Jaden took another radio from Boone. This one was in contact with the B-24 heavy bomber.

"Anti air is down, you have a clear run, your target is the trench at the front of the camp!"

Oliver looked up in horror as he could hear what was coming before he saw the B-24 on its approach. The trench troops took a few pot shots at it but it was way too high and out of range. Without any AA fire to dodge it was more of a target exercise for the bomber as it flew over and carpet bombed the trench with precision.

The real horror was still to come as the bombs didn't carry explosive. After the raid on the refugee caravan Jaden's militia had confiscated the Patriot mortars and all their remaining ordinance. All of it had been sent up to the Boomers for retrofit that same day by a furious Jaden. On impact the bombs split open and released the very same toxin that they'd used in the attack. None of the Patriots had rebreathers or NBC gear and had no hope of climbing out of the trench in time before inhaling the lethal cloud and choking up blood. Oliver and his few remaining men could only watch the gory mass slaughter in terror. 4 minutes later the coughing, choking, retching and hacking stopped and it was over.

Jaden, the Aces and his other friends watched from the ridge. Jaden hadn't wanted it this way but that was war for you. You just couldn't count on the enemy doing what you wanted them to do. Those men had chosen to follow Oliver in this terrorist campaign of his and, in the end, they'd chosen poorly.

"Wait until the cloud disperses then move in, Securitrons first," Jaden ordered coldly. "Take the bastard alive if possible."  
Oliver's few remaining Patriots tried their best but with 90% of their force gone and their defence line breached they didn't stand a chance against the amount of firepower arrayed against them. The embattled Oliver retreated back all the way through the camp and back to the very edge of the river to the old Blue Paradise sunken chalets. His men were cut down by laser and bullet fire around him one by one until he was left facing 100 Securitrons alone.

Oliver wondered why they hadn't just finished him and stopped firing when they parted in the middle to allow Jaden, Boone, Cass, Veronica, Raul, Arcade and Ashley access.

"Game over, General and you lose!" Cass' voice was filled with venom. Many of her caravaneer friends had died because of this arrogant whisky dick and she'd been looking forward to this.

"Well what the fuck are you waiting for then?" Oliver snarled. "Finish it! History will still remember me!"  
"Yes but as what? Especially when all your dirty secrets come out!" Boone let some of his anger come through.

Jaden nodded. "Boone and I swore a blood oath after we went to Bitter Springs; together we'd find who was responsible for issuing the order for the massacre there."

Oliver swallowed hard as he heard that, something neither Jaden nor Boone missed.

"At first I wasn't sure I could help at all on that as I thought the order might have come from the NCR itself. But then I remembered a little episode at Boulder City. I'd negotiated a deal with the Great Kahns for the release of 2 hostages when in comes an order to massacre the Kahns no matter what. I thought that was just the bad history between the Kahns and the NCR at the time but after Bitter Springs it got me thinking...and I asked Boone to look into it."

Boone took up the narrative. "Yes, I called in a few favours back home and followed the order back to its source. Oh you took us all the way around the chain of command and back again, but in the end the order was tracked back to your office in Hoover Dam. That really confused us, why would you get involved in something as small scale as that?"

"There could only be one answer to that," Jaden went on. "That it was you behind the original massacre and you were running scared. Afraid if the Kahns were taken alive they'd start talking and maybe someone would believe them and look into Bitter Springs a little harder, which wouldn't do your career any good would it? Of course I couldn't prove any of this until some new associates of mine did some digging in the NCR and came up with the original order..."

Oliver nearly choked as Jaden showed the paper from Vulpes' dossier. How had the Courier got hold of that? He thought he'd burned nearly all of them and covered his tracks.

Jaden seemed to read his mind. "I don't know how they got hold of it and truthfully I don't care. The point is I have it and I know. You ordered the whole thing deliberately, no doubt to give your reputation a boost. You know, I'm the General that finally wipes the Kahns out and all that. Except you got it wrong and all you wiped out were their old folks, women and kids."

"No, not quite!" Oliver snarled. "I knew what that camp was all along!"  
For once Jaden and his group were taken aback.

"You knew?" Boone was at a loss until another memory stuck in his mind. "Ah, I see. Revenge for your son killed in one of the Kahns' caravan raids. Private James Oliver...I remember him from my time at Camp McCarran."

"Now do you understand?" Oliver roared. "I wanted them to feel what I'd been forced to feel! To see how they liked their loved ones being killed! When you punish the innocent the guilty suffer even more!"  
"And earns you more enemies in the process," Jaden retorted. "Like me."

"You? Why the fuck should you care about a bunch of raiding drug dealers?" Oliver was at a loss.

"If you'd hit the main camp at Red Rock I wouldn't have cared at all," Jaden answered. "The Kahns were asking for retaliation by their raiding and your son didn't deserve what he got. But by hitting Bitter Springs you killed people who weren't drug dealers or anyway involved in the raids like 8 caravaneers, 4 caravan guards and 2 couriers who'd been given an overnight stay as a courtesy for their supply deliveries."

"Unfortunate collateral damage," Oliver did look somewhat contrite. "But like I said what's any of that to you?"

Jaden clenched his fist in anger. "The 2 couriers' names were John and Martha Storm. Your 'collateral damage' was my parents you arrogant son of a bitch!"

All colour drained from Oliver's face.

"Yes. I didn't know for certain until I received this paper," Jaden went on tearfully. "But I suspected enough. This, combined with Colonel Moore's little vendetta against the Brotherhood of Steel and a little meeting I had at the Divide, convinced me the NCR wasn't a worthy cause...not under your leadership anyway. That's right Oliver, to find the architect of your downfall you've only got to look in a mirror!"

"So what are we waiting for?" Cass spat as she readied her shotgun. "Let's spill his two faced guts and go!"  
"No," Jaden grabbed her gun with his hand and stopped her.

"No?" Boone was stunned as was everyone else around them.

"Jaden you can't let him go, not after what he's done!" Arcade warned.

"He's right, boss," Raul butted in. "Lost son or not he went too far and that's not counting all he's done in the last few weeks."

"Who said anything about letting him go?" Jaden added. "This isn't just about me or Boone or Bitter Springs. He's got a whole lot more to answer for than just that and that's why we're taking him in alive. Revenge isn't everything it's cracked up to be, trust me on that."

Jaden was speaking truthfully from the heart when he spoke. Shooting Benny in the head had been gratifying in a way but it didn't bring him peace or solve all his problems. Then he'd met Ulysses and saw what an obsessive pursuit of revenge and one person could do to someone, such as drive them to all acts of insanity and trying to cause another nuclear cataclysm.

"Ok, so we take him in alive. Then what?" Veronica asked.

"Then he stands trial. I may not want pure revenge but I do want justice," Jaden said calmly. "Bitter Springs, caravan raiding, acts of murder during said raids; some with chemical weapons...well I could keep going for awhile couldn't I? Let's just say by the end of it people will know everything that he's done. I pity you Oliver. You remind me of another adversary I met in the Divide, unlike you though he could see what he'd become. Amazing you can't, just look at yourself! Leading a bunch of wastelanders raiding caravans? You've reduced yourself to what the Kahns were back then. Like I said I really pity you."

"You pity me?" Oliver looked like a ghost of a man compared to what he'd been a moment ago. "I don't need anyone's pity!"

He'd palmed a smoke grenade as he was talking and he dropped it at Jaden's feet before turning and diving straight into the water.

"Come back you fool, you'll never make it!" Jaden spluttered as he lunged through the smoke and prepared to dive after him.

"Don't worry Jaden, where's he going to go?" Arcade reassured him. "The Vertibirds can track him wherever he goes."  
"I can see where he's going and it's going to be the end of him!" Jaden cursed. He could see Oliver swimming at a remarkable rapid rate toward a promontory on the other side of the river. He was already halfway across and Jaden knew he wouldn't catch up to him, at least not in time.

Out in the water desperation and survival instinct were propelling Oliver across the river at a breakneck pace. Despite putting on a little weight in recent years he was still relatively fit and hadn't forgotten his survival training from his infantry days. Four minutes later he was scrambling onto the opposite shore and uphill almost in disbelief.

_So much for that pretty boy Courier's fancy speeches! Once again I'm getting away and..._

His train of thought was derailed by a loud and ominous growl from behind him. He turned to find the very good reason why hardly anyone came over here and why Jaden hadn't come after him: this promontory was a Deathclaw nest. He just had time to scream before the alpha male ripped him clean in two...

Jaden cursed as he saw Oliver's fate through his binoculars. "Damn it! We came so close."

"He chose his own fate," Boone assured him. "There wasn't much you could have done."

"He should have stood trial," Ashley felt cheated.

"Nothing we can do now," Jaden sighed. "The Securitrons have it all on film. Let's go home."

"JA-DEN! JA-DEN! JA-DEN! JA-DEN!"

"What the...?" Jaden was stunned to see his militia pumping the air with their fists and cheering him on as the word of Oliver's fate filtered through their ranks.

"Looks like your victory moment, boss," Raul grinned.

"You should go," Arcade gently nudged. "This is your moment and you've earned it. We're all behind you."

Escorted by Boone and with his other friends behind a humbled Jaden went over to meet with his troops. The Aces were at the head and Riker was holding the crude and tattered Patriot camp flag in his hands.

"Are the robots still recording all this, Boss?"

"Yeah, why?" Jaden asked.

"Good!" Riker tossed the flag to the ground, unzipped himself and then urinated over it. Then he signalled over another trooper with a flamethrower who promptly torched it. Riker finished off by walking to Jaden's side, grabbing hold of his right arm and lifting it up high in obvious victory style to a thunderous cheer.

"Isn't this overdoing it?!" A flustered and somewhat embarrassed Jaden spluttered. "This is like something the Legion would do!"

"Not at all Boss," Riker was adamant. "This sends both them and the NCR a great message: _don't fuck with us!_"

"Damn right!" Chelsea agreed. "Before we were just a load of nobodies and something to roll over and absorb. They have to take us seriously now."

"Our nation's on the map and it's here to stay," Cass and the others had caught up. "They're right, Jaden. This'll make both of them think twice before trying something like this again. Enjoy the moment! They're all with you!"

Jaden couldn't do much else as his militia's cheering rang through the valley.

**The Hub-NCR**

Jaden didn't know it but two cyborgs were also applauding his victory at the same time. Rho had left behind a cloaked captured eyebot to spy on Oliver and it had captured the whole thing for them to watch on screen.

"Excellent. I see the Imperator's faith in Jaden Storm wasn't misplaced," Omicron said in approval. "Now the political fallout begins."

"Yes, it's perfect!" Rho smirked. "And with Oliver gone there's no one for them to put on trial and Jaden has no way to trace events back to us! That dossier Vulpes gave him had no record of our involvement."

"Exactly. All of which means the poor NCR and its pathetic politicians will be left to face the wrath of the New Vegas Alliance alone...and they'll exact a heavy price! Even if the Courier does pick up on some of our activities it won't matter. He's trapped into this course of action by his own people, we've seen to that," Omicron was feeling very pleased with himself.

"Do we need to close down our affairs soon?" Rho asked.

Omicron nodded. "Yes. I received orders last night. Once confirmation of New Vegas' retaliation comes through we are to return to the carrier. The Vertibird will be waiting at the usual place. Just one more thing I have to take care of."

He went outside his custom trailer to meet up with his other subordinate and employee Alexis Morrell. She was, of course, just an ordinary human courier and unaware of his true nature.

Alexis was resting out of the sun and quickly got to her feet. "Oh, Mr Cronus. You've got another job for me?"  
"I'm afraid not, Alexis. A...small crisis has come up and I have to move on. This means we have reached a parting of the ways unfortunately."

Alexis was horrified. This job had been the best thing to happen to her in years and was her only source of income.

Omicron had foreseen all of this however. "Don't worry. I've arranged a good severance package."

He passed a shocked Alexis a sack containing 8000 caps. "Wha...this is way too much! I mean I..."

"Take it," Omicron insisted. "You've been of great help to me these last few years. Oh, and some advice, as a friend. You deserve better than what you have here. Take your family and resettle in New Vegas. My sources tell me of some lean times ahead here; it's another reason I'm moving on. But I hear good couriers and workers are in high demand over there. There's a caravan leaving in 2 hours, I'd be on it if I were you."

After saying his last goodbye to a grateful Alexis he went back inside to find Rho eavesdropping.

"Not like you to get sentimental, Omicron."

"I simply reward loyalty," Omicron countered. "She's been most useful and I think she'll be a fine cyborg one day when our great campaign is over along with Jaden Storm and his friends of course. All of them have proven their worth to us. Now we've ensured they'll be out of the way of what is to come here."

"Yes. The end of this old world hangover republic and then the beginning of the end of organic human rule on this world," Rho said with relish.

"Exactly. A most comforting thought! The human era will soon be over. The cyborg age has come!"


	9. Suspicions and battle plans

What have I unleashed here with this? So much demand for parts and now I'm going into new territory. I've never played games 1 and 2 so I'm working off the Fallout wiki and maps from there. If anyone does see any mistakes please let me know in the coming parts and I'll try and correct as best I can.

jake111: the cybermen are a big inspiration for me as my logo gives away :)

sirnagle and sgtranglin: Almost but first Jaden has to prove himself to Leon...

Oddliver: Oh yes, New Vegas is safe. I'm not so sure about the NCR though.

Cold secrets: Thanks for pointing that mistake out. My bad on that one, it is a B-29 not a 24. That'll teach me to play the game more often.

Vect the Atoner: Jaden is a gentler person and not as vindictive as Leon, who certainly _would_ have done something like that. The local BOS trying to execute him would have been a terminal mistake for sure. Also Jaden had other reasons for trying to keep Oliver alive...

Gcnm: Good spot between you and Vect. I just liked the line not the overrated douchebag who used it first :)

Bezerkoid: Don't confuse cold logic and calculated moves with compassion. If you're useful it's an upgrade or if not it's deletion with the cyborgs and they are planning to go for New Vegas sooner or later.

eaglescorch: One more part and the war begins, I promise. Thanks for the advice btw, I think I've got enough to keep going now.

DeathscytheVII: Thank you, hope I can keep that going as there are a few more villains on the way this part.

Sherman2396 and aky141: I am definitely not quitting on this. I've found a flow with this fic I've never had before. Hope I can keep going now I'm on new turf.

Ok back to a suspicious Courier, the Lone Wanderer arriving in Vegas and revealing the new heirs to the cyborg throne...

**Lucky 38- later that evening**

Boone, along with the rest of Jaden's companions, was feeling more than a little concerned. Despite their victory and the celebration after, Jaden hardly said anything on the flight back. He stayed deep in thought and, if Boone's gut was still working right, more than a little worried. That feeling was reinforced when they got back to Vegas and Veronica had put together an impromptu victory party in the cocktail lounge. Jaden, however, had gone straight up to the penthouse after scheduling a full cabinet meeting for first thing in the morning and hadn't been seen since.

Ashley, meanwhile, was in turmoil herself. She'd come here on a spy mission which she'd blown by getting caught on the first day. Her preconceptions of the Courier had all turned out to be flat out wrong; he wasn't anything like the power hungry maniac a lot of the NCR establishment had painted him as. To top it all her fears about the Patriots had proven all true, whilst not government backed they had been directly connected to the NCR at several levels. She knew that would be more than enough for the New Vegas Alliance government to lay blame at Kimball's door. All of which meant that, barring a miracle, the NCR was about to get a very hard fall.

On the good side at least she wasn't being treated as a spy or an enemy anymore. She'd taken advantage of the party to mingle with Jaden's friends, although they weren't giving much real information away to her.

The only big thing she picked up was that the last companion she'd been briefed on, the Nightkin Super Mutant Lily, had moved on since Hoover Dam. On regaining her lost memories she'd gone northwest to the NCR to track her relatives down there and had not been heard from since.

Boone had been what she expected; a hardass loyal career soldier. He'd been a heavy loss to the NCR when he'd quit, not that Ashley blamed him; the NCR had deserved to lose him after Bitter Springs. Raul was a real character. Ashley sensed he'd seen a lot and had some tragedy in his past; not that he was sharing. Arcade was a mysterious one and she felt there was a lot more to him than being a Followers' doctor. Veronica was the most cheerful of them all, one of those people who didn't let life get her down for long, despite her home front woes.

The one she got on best with was Cass. They were alike in a few ways: tough, independent and loyal to the NCR despite being contemptuous of its leaders and politicians. Cass's proclamation that she wished the Legion had kicked the head of the NCR and not the feet was something Ashley could really relate to. Still, she knew even Cass couldn't get the NCR out of its current bind.

"Still no sign of our fearless leader?" Veronica complained after the third round of drinks.

"I don't think there's going to be," Arcade replied flatly. "He didn't look like he was in party mood last I looked."

Cass grunted. "Well if he won't come to the party let's bring the party to him! Sound good?"  
"Now you're talking!" Veronica agreed instantly.

"Good idea." Boone normally would have shot that idea down but not this time. He could feel that there was something needling Jaden and it would take all of them together to get it out of him.

After recovering from the shock of Boone's agreement with Veronica's idea they all piled into the elevator and went up to the penthouse. There was a surprise in store when they got there; Jaden was working at Yes Man's monitor but he wasn't alone. ED-E and Marcus were standing alongside him.

"You're sure this is one of your signals, ED-E?" Jaden was asking.

The little eyebot bounced in mid-air in an affirmative.

"Can you translate it so we can view it?"

ED-E bounced a yes again.

"Ok get on it," Jaden noticed his friends on the landing above. "That's good timing, I was about to call you up."  
"What's wrong, boss?" Raul asked first. "We won, we beat Oliver. The attacks have stopped and we showed the NCR and the Legion that we aren't anything weak so what's the problem?"

"Yes we did, didn't we?" Jaden's tone couldn't have been more sceptical. "But there's a few problems with that. First off tomorrow I'm going to have to do something I don't want to do, namely cut the NCR off at the knees."

"I suppose there'll be no talking the cabinet out of it?" Arcade supposed.

"Never mind the cabinet; it's impossible to talk the people out of it!" Jaden sighed. "That chemical attack was the last straw. Nearly everyone I met on the street tonight wants extreme sanctions, half want me to 'rip the NCR's balls off and shove them down their throat'. Their exact words those were."

"I suppose no one told them our Securitrons are a defensive force," Veronica joked. "They're not able to operate outside our borders. We can't attack even if we wanted to."

"We don't have to attack them physically Veronica," Jaden explained. "I've had some of my contacts in the Mojave Express do some digging. It seems the NCR is in a much worse economic situation than we thought. The war nearly bankrupted them and if our sanctions go through, and it seems inevitable they will, it could tip them over the edge into depression."

"That's what I was sent to try and prevent," Ashley admitted. "The idea was that I could get information on the Patriots, send it to the Rangers and then they'd send it on to you. It would have shown Oliver and his crew were no friends of ours."

Jaden nodded in understanding. "I'd have appreciated that. That was another reason I wanted Oliver alive. However much I hated him I needed him to try and stave this off. If I could have put him on trial I could have redirected most of the anger at him and shown that he acted independently of the NCR government all at the same time. Now that won't happen and the NCR's facing it alone."

"But you still have the files and all the evidence showing that," Cass reasoned.

"Yes but without Oliver they won't have the effect they would have done with him," Arcade explained. "Without his word or that of any Patriot confirming that this wasn't official the suspicions will linger on."

"And I know what the cabinet will say: whether there was involvement or not it happened on the NCR government's watch. They either look incredibly negligent, or worse, complicit. It's a lose/lose for the NCR either way," Jaden sighed in frustration.

Boone could see why Jaden was getting such a headache. "And you've got no way past this?"

"None at all," Jaden had never felt so powerless. "I don't want to do something which could destroy the NCR but I'm in a situation where I can't not do it. If I hold back the cabinet and the people of New Vegas will roast me alive on a spit."

"I can only imagine how poor old Crocker's taking this," Veronica sighed.

"He gets expelled tomorrow as well," Jaden revealed. "The cabinet will be pushing to cut off all relations and he'll be a casualty of that. But all this isn't the only thing I'm worried about."

"There's more?" Cass was wondering how things could get any worse with her country about to be broken by the court of New Vegas public opinion.

"Yes, there's something very wrong with this whole thing," Jaden said mysteriously. "I'm just wondering if we're missing something here."

"Like what?" Arcade asked.

"I'm not sure, but let's just say that some things just don't fit. I mean Oliver starts this operation a few weeks back and his Patriots are a complete mystery to us. I suspect Oliver or Kimball may be behind it but I've got no proof or any clue. Then the Legion suddenly drops this file in our laps and nearly all his secrets are given away...we go from nothing to everything in no time at all. Convenient wouldn't you say?"

Marcus took over. "We also picked up a mysterious signal at Black Mountain. At first we thought it was background noise or a malfunction until I remembered Jaden's robot and realised it was an encoded transmission."

"In eyebot language?" Arcade was amazed.

"Yes. ED-E's trying to translate it now," Jaden explained. "Marcus told me there's been a lot of communication traffic like it over the past few weeks but most of it was so brief they couldn't get a fix on either end."

"At first we thought it was just Oliver's supporters in the NCR keeping track of his progress," Marcus went on. "But we now think it may have been something else."

Jaden went over to a crate near the console. "For another thing there's this, one of the weapon crates we took from them. I mean look at what's in it. All high end guns but they're all on their last legs. Most of them don't even work!"

Boone caught on fast. "Almost as if the backers didn't want Oliver to succeed!"

Jaden nodded. "Exactly. That got me thinking real hard; why would they want that? I know NCR politicians are dumb but not that much! But when you step back for a second there's only one explanation."

"All of it was a set up!" Ashley exclaimed.

"Yeah. I think Oliver was led into doing this. Easy to do with that oversized ego of his and I bet the Van Graffs were just as easy to rope in along with Caldwell and his senators, all of them duped into thinking they could have another try to grab New Vegas and get revenge at the same time with no problem or comeback. Except the ones who put them up to it had something else in mind."

"It has to be the Legion!" Boone exclaimed. "They use Frumentarii to set up Oliver and then give you that dossier. The NCR gets weaker and they don't have to risk anything."

"I'd have gone for that if the Legion were actually taking credit for all of it," Jaden said. "But from what I've heard on the grapevine they aren't. Vulpes and other Legion big shots are crowing over the NCR's humiliation and how they helped do that by getting that file to me...but that's all they're boasting about. You know how they work; if they'd orchestrated all of this they'd be falling over themselves to say so and grind the 'profligates' noses in it."

"So what does it all mean?" Veronica asked. "We've got some new players in town?"

"Some new and very clever faction I think," Jaden reasoned. "They'd have to be to play the NCR, the Legion and then us all at once."

"No kidding," Cass was amazed. "But all that just so they can hurt New Vegas and then get the NCR to take the hit for it? Seems kind of a lot of trouble for not that much."

"You're assuming we were the real target, Cass," Jaden was starting to see a few more connections. "Because I don't think we were. Think about it; who's going to take the biggest hit in the end?"

"Oh hell..." Ashley said with growing horror as she realised.

"Yeah. Our country isn't the one in trouble. I think the NCR is!"

It was then that ED-E made a breakthrough with the transmission and everyone was treated to a replay of the battle at Cottonwood.

Jaden nodded in understanding. "Clever bastards. They were watching us all along, making sure we finished the job and Oliver."

"But we can do something about it now that we know, right?" Cass asked in hope.

"I'm not so sure," Jaden wasn't optimistic. "There are 2 big problems. First off although we've worked out this trap we did it too late and we're still caught in it. I'm politically stuck and can't see any way out of hitting the NCR tomorrow. They've whipped our people into a frenzy; if I hadn't sent Securitrons to Freeside the other day we'd have had a riot."

Boone caught on too. "And the second problem is we've got no solid proof?"

"Exactly. All we have are these mysterious signals, suspicions and nothing else. I can't go to the cabinet tomorrow and get the sanctions delayed with just that when we've got evidence against the NCR in spades. Blaming a phantom or non-existent faction just because of a strange radio signal or two? It'd look like I was doing stand up comedy at the Tops!"

"Shit!" Ashley pretty much said what they were all thinking.

"Well if anyone's got any ideas out of this, I'd love to hear them," Jaden sighed. "I'm going to go sleep on it."

Half an hour later lying on his bed Jaden got an idea. It was risky; there'd be hell to pay with his own people if word got out but...yes, he supposed it was worth the risk. There were 2 kinds of political moves after all; do and appear to do.

He got up quickly to go and talk to Boone. He had a lot of careful planning and arranging to do and not much time to do it in.

**Freeside**

By now Leon and his party had reached Vegas and were crossing King controlled territory.

"Nice place," Yuna wasn't too impressed.

"Reminds me of home only it's a little better," Leon remarked. "At least they don't have Super Mutants gunning for anyone that moves and it looks like they've got some protection here."

He pointed to the other side of the street where three Kings had just taken down two muggers with their submachine guns.

Dan nodded. "It's a lot safer than the Capital Wasteland, that's for sure. These people don't know how lucky they are."

They walked on to the old Mormon fort and then through the bus to the Strip entrance road. Only one mugger was dumb enough to try and take them and he ended up with a third eye courtesy of Leon's silenced 10mm.

"So what's the plan?" Dan asked half dreading Leon's response.

"First we get onto the Strip and then we find one of the Securitron robots. One I can access out of sight," Leon replied.

"What for?" Yuna wondered.

Leon snorted. "To slip inside undetected. What else? We've got to show the Courier a taste of what he's up against and whether he's really up to facing it. We don't have the Brotherhood or any other good backup out here so we've got to make sure."

They'd brought more than enough caps with them to enter the Strip with no problem and, like many before them, were amazed at the Strip when they got through the gates.

"You'd never think something like this could survive the war could you?" Dan mused.

"Well, should we find somewhere to stay?" Yuna asked. "Preferably not there if it's all the same to you."

She was pointing at Gomorrah. Two of the hookers outside were eyeing her over and making her a little nervous.

"Oh I don't know. If Jake were here I'm sure he wouldn't mind getting a room for the 2 of you in there," Dan teased.

"Don't remind me!" Yuna sighed.

"Or me," Leon added acidly. Circumstances had forced him to leave Amata behind which hadn't helped his mood any.

"Let's try the other end then," Dan suggested. "I hear there's a vault hotel down there."

Fortune was favouring them as Vault 21 had a lone Securitron guarding its entrance.

"Cover me and keep watch. Make sure to warn me if any others turn up," Leon ordered as he activated an upgrade he'd installed on his pip-boy and pulled out a long wire from the underside.

"What's that?" Dan asked. "Never seen a pip-boy have that."

"A little trick I learned from our friends at Vault 66," Leon grinned. "Bastards they may have been but they were good hackers."  
Dan grinned. "Ok, go do your thing, we've got your back."

**NCR north-east border-between New Reno and Vault City**

"Why do we bother to guard this area?"

Private Renalos's radioed question didn't seem unreasonable on the face of it. The Raiders in this area had long since been wiped out, there was no real wildlife threat and there was a fully functioning electric fence running for miles.

Corporal Miller grinned from up in the watch tower. "Because it's a border and it's still necessary to have eyes on it, Private. Just because there's not much here now doesn't mean that there never will be. We're still the first line of defence for the NCR no matter how boring it is, so get used to it!"

Miller braced himself for the sarcastic response but it never came. He shrugged, maybe Renalos was getting more mature with his job. 10 minutes later he could hear his footsteps on the guard tower staircase.

"Ok Renalos, what took you so long? You're well overdu...what the fuck?!"

Miller turned to see that the thing in the tower with him wasn't Renalos. He wasn't even human anymore: 6 ft 3, Asian on his organic side, clad in silver cybernetic power armour and armed with a plasma gun on one wrist and a sword blade on the other. Miller didn't even have time to scream before the cyborg plunged his sword straight through his heart.

His grim task done, cyborg leader Gamma switched on his radio. "Gamma to carrier, all opposition deleted, this tower is secure."

"Excellent. Be prepared to activate Incisor at a moment's notice, Gamma. Phase 2 is almost at hand!"

"Understood Imperator. We will be ready!"

An electric fence proved no defence against cyborg infiltrators that could leap clean over it and the few NCR grunts on border duty might as well not have been there at all. Within a few minutes, every other tower and post 10 miles each way met the same fate...

**Lucky 38-next morning**

Ambassador Crocker was at a total loss. The day had started predictably badly. Jaden's government had voted through a total blockade of all NCR caravans, pretty much what Caldwell and his faction had been planning to do and the power supply from Hoover Dam had been cut off. He'd packed up his suitcases overnight as he'd expected to be expelled forthwith and hadn't been disappointed when that had been announced over Radio New Vegas as well.

Jaden's militia had been called in from Camp McCarran to give him, his secretary and his small guard detachment, led by Captain Marie Pappas, safe escort out to the monorail. Crocker had been glad of that; he'd heard and saw the angry mob that had gathered and had been contained near the Tops, they were heckling and jeering all the while as they were escorted past. He'd no doubt they'd have been lynched or worse if they'd been left on their own.

Then things took an unexpected turn. His party had then been surrounded by militia troops and then bundled off the steps of the monorail out of sight down to the wall behind the monorail where it met with the fence separating it from the 38. A small section of the fence had been temporarily taken out and his group was hustled through that, back around to the front behind a wall of Securitrons and then safely into the Lucky 38 where they were taken up to a suite on the 6th floor. Boone had been waiting for them there and informed them that this was now their new embassy until things calmed down.

An hour or so later he'd been invited up to the penthouse where Jaden and his close friends were waiting for him.

"As much as I appreciate the fancy new home Jaden, I'd love to know what the idea is behind all of this."

Jaden smiled. "Simple Ambassador. As far as the public's concerned now you've been expelled and you're on your way home. I'm choosing to keep channels open another way."

"But what's the point now that you've blockaded us? I know Oliver and his thugs deserved everything you gave them but I doubt anyone back home will be so receptive or understanding after today."

"They might when they find out my reasons," Jaden said grimly before bringing Crocker up to date with everything they'd discovered and suspected.

"My god," Crocker was aghast. "So all the death and destruction up to now was just a _ruse_? All those poor people...I can't believe it!"

"Neither could we at first," Arcade said. "But the signs are there. They didn't make many mistakes and I bet they didn't expect us to have an eyebot that could break their code signals."

"And you've no idea who 'they' are at all?" Crocker asked.

"Not right now," Jaden admitted. "We thought it might be the Legion at first, they did expose Oliver and his men to us. But using tech like that and hiding in the shadows isn't their style."

"So what happens now?"

"Well now that you've been 'cut off', so to speak, we're hoping this hidden enemy will reveal themselves," Boone explained. "I know this seems a high risk move but I don't see any other way."

Crocker had to agree. The evidence wasn't rock solid but it did paint a clear picture. Someone was setting his country up and they'd done a pretty good job of it. Oregon's settlements had cut off communication altogether when the latest developments had hit the airwaves. The NCR now stood alone and weaker than it had ever been in its lifetime.

"Alright, I accept all of that. I assume if some enemy force does reveal itself and start attacking us...?"

"The power and all trade links get restored immediately," Jaden assured. "Along with any other help we can send if it proves a major threat."

"Well then I'd best get another cable through to the President and..."

"No, you can't!" Jaden warned. "If you do all this could be for nothing."

"He's right Ambassador," Boone backed him up. "Whoever these people are they've been a step ahead of all of us every time; I think they must have taps inside the NCR somewhere. If we tell the President or the Congress our hidden enemies will know we're onto them and that we're up to something they'd want to know about."

"So I can't send any dispatches at all?" Crocker sighed in frustration.

Jaden considered. "I suppose we can risk one. Warn Senator Hanlon, if anyone can help it's him."

"All right," Crocker agreed. "I'd better send it anonymously through the Mojave Express by fast service. Hopefully that'll elude their notice. By the way Jaden...thanks. I know this is a huge political risk for you."

Jaden just smiled and went over to Yes Man's console to check on the progress of his current project: namely tracking back the signal to its destination. They'd had some success but Jaden wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. According to the coordinates they'd dug up the signal had been transmitted to two places. One matched the map coordinates of the Hub in the NCR itself but the other either was a mistake or something more sinister. The second set of coordinates matched a spot 100 miles off the NCR coast in the Pacific Ocean.

"Yes Man, check all your sensors here and tell Big Mountain to do the same. We'd best make sure these readings are right."

"Leave it to me and don't worry about it. I know you're a busy person."

Jaden, chuckling at Yes Man's constant fawning, went up to the elevator and was met with a surprise as he discovered an envelope taped to the elevator doors.

He took it down and came back into the room. "Ok, who's taken to leaving messages on the elevator?"

That got a confused look out of everyone. "No one as far as we know boss," Raul finally said.

Jaden, feeling more concerned by the minute, opened the envelope and read the note inside. He had turned very pale once he'd finished.

"What's wrong?" Boone and the others got up and came over.

"See for yourself," Jaden passed him the note so they could all read it. "I think we need to beef up our security, don't you?"

_Jaden Storm,_

_Everyone in this area seems to think you are the greatest hero alive. I've heard of your achievements on the radio and hearsay and I'm somewhat impressed. I hope your skills live up to your reputation because they are about to be tested like never before. There's a great storm coming; the NCR is in line to be hit first but no one is safe from it, not even you. I'll offer you a deal. If you really want to know who orchestrated the attacks on New Vegas and destroyed the NCR's reputation then meet me behind the old train station in Freeside at midday. You'll know me when I show up. _

_PS: Congratulations on seeing through the deception of the raids on your caravans. Your team is very able and that'll help. _

"Well, looks like I've a rendezvous to make," Jaden said when they'd all finished reading.

"What, you're going to walk into an obvious trap now? You've been working too long boss," Raul snorted.

"It's not a trap, Raul, not in that sense," Jaden replied.

"How do you know that?" Crocker couldn't help wondering. "Seems like a classic set up to me."

"Because if he wanted me dead he'd have done it right here a short time ago. I haven't told anyone outside of this room about what we've learned up to now, not even the cabinet. There's only one way this guy could have found that out."

Cass's mouth dropped open in shock. "Holy shit! You mean he was...!"

"...here listening in the whole time we were briefing the Ambassador and he left this message on the way out," Jaden revealed. "Arcade, get onto the Followers and get Emily Ortal up here. The 38's security's been breached and I'd love to know how he did that!"

"There's only two people I can think of who can pull off something like this," Boone warned. "And I'm standing next to one of them."

Jaden nodded. "Yeah I know. But I've got to go anyway, Boone, if I don't we may never get to the bottom of this. Well, I'd best get my gear together. Time to see which side the Dark Phantom's really on!"

**Sky Carrier-100 miles off the California coast**

On hearing of the retaliatory sanctions against the NCR by New Vegas, Omicron and Rho wasted no time in leaving the Hub and making their Vertibird rendezvous. From there they flew right out to sea and above the cloud line thousands of feet up to the newest cyborg base. Physically it looked like an uglier and junkier version of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Functionally it was a gigantic inelegant mix of the Rivet City aircraft carrier, the Enclave's mobile crawler and a battlecruiser and had the best traits of all three. It could carry and support several squadrons of Vertibirds and fighter aircraft and at capacity could house well over 1000 cyborgs. The lowest levels consisted of 2 runway decks and their Vertibird was coming in to land on the lower runway reserved for landings.

Three other high ranking cyborgs were waiting for them. The first had been 35 years old and a handsome Hispanic man before his conversion; now he was a cold silver armoured cyborg leader designated Sigma.

The second needed very little introduction. She was over 200 years old but still beautiful, or least would have been if not for the red eye and metal augments that marred her face. Long ago she was Tina Langley, vault science intern from Baltimore, now she was a long veteran of the cyborg cause known as Iota.

The last was almost just as old, although he had spent much of his life in cold storage before being upgraded. Once he'd been an ordinary teenager, a typical 16 year old boy who'd had a very unfortunate life. He'd blundered into a heavy irradiated zone near Washington and had very quickly contracted radiation poisoning before being saved and preserved in cryo suspension by his scientist father until he could be cured. Unfortunately for young Tobias Vaughan events forced his father to become Alpha, the cyborg commander and creator of the cyborg race, and a helpless Tobias had been one of his first upgrades. Now he was clad in blue cybernetic power armour and his designation was Epsilon.

"Welcome back," Iota greeted Omicron and Rho as they disembarked. "Congratulations are in order for your successful completion of phase 1."

"Thank you Iota. It's good to be back and out of hiding at last," Omicron had cut his fake flesh covering away on the flight home.

"So when does the real campaign start?" Rho asked showing some impatience.

Iota smiled coldly. "Very soon. I'll let the Imperator inform you of our plan when you meet him."

"And that time would be now."

They turned to see the source of the voice emerging from an elevator. His armour had changed from silver to gold but the cruel and arrogant features of former cyborg leader Delta had not.

Omicron smiled. "Imperator, I hope you were satisfied with our progress in New Vegas."

"Satisfied? I was ecstatic. Your stratagem was a thing of beauty; you had 3 of the human factions dancing like puppets!" Delta couldn't have been happier with the latest turn of events.

"So when do we start cutting the strings of those puppets?" Rho could hardly wait.

"Very soon now my dear Rho. Gamma and his battalions are now in position on the north border. He has only to wait for my signal to start phase 2 of our campaign."

"What exactly is phase 2?" Omicron asked. "We've been out of touch for awhile."

"Phase 2 is codenamed Incisor, a very apt name, as it entails a deep strike into NCR territory from the north. Gamma's orders are quite simple: delete every settlement he encounters and cause and much death and destruction as possible."

"Deleted organics are the best kind," Rho smiled cruelly. "But what's the wider aim of that other than to cause confusion and chaos?"

Delta smirked. "Just that. I believe the expression is that we're giving them a sucker punch? By hitting their precious civilians, and in the most remote places first, we force the NCR to deploy a lot of their forces north and they'll stretch themselves too thin. We might sustain some losses but I think Gamma is more than capable of handling them. At first they'll probably think its a few Raider gangs and I doubt they'll take us seriously until it's too late and they find out that Incisor is just a feint!"

"Then comes phase 3," Sigma informed them. "While they are flailing about near New Reno and Vault City trying to stop us there this carrier and our main force will strike from the west. We will take out the Hub, Boneyard and Maxson and then strike forward to Shady Sands itself. Caught on two fronts and outgunned on both they will be defeated quickly."

"Didn't the Brotherhood have the same thinking?" Epsilon cautioned.

"The Brotherhood did not have the numbers we now have," Delta reasoned. "Nor did they have the ability to make allies of our enemies as we do, or any of our other new technology for that matter."

"So we get to test the Liberators?" Rho asked with relish.

"They completed stress testing yesterday," Delta informed us. "They will be delivered here piece by piece over the next day or so. Gamma will launch Incisor by the end of tomorrow. We will deploy 5 days after that. I have to admit I'm looking forward to their first real test as well. It's a pity our old nemesis Omega isn't here to see it, he'd have appreciated the irony more!"

That earned a cold laugh from all of them.

"Imperator, did you consider my request?" Epsilon asked.

"I did but I am at a loss as to why you want to join the Incisor task force now, Epsilon," Delta mused. "I'd have thought you would have wanted to see the fruits of your research tested in the field in a few days."

"That's appealing but I feel I need some field time myself. I need to be of greater use and the only other way to do that is to get battle experience. I can assist Gamma as a strategist and I need more subjects for the Prometheus program, raiding these settlements will be perfect for that."

"Sounds like he's got some good reasons to me," Rho grinned. "He wants the chance to prove himself, Imperator."

"And he can have it," Delta smiled in approval. "Your logic is sound so you can leave for Gamma's location tonight. Do not take any unnecessary risks Epsilon. You are all that remains of our creator and one of the greatest cyborgs alive. He'd be proud of how much you've accomplished up to now and we cannot afford to lose you."

Epsilon was relieved. "Don't worry; I'll let Gamma take the lead. Well I should go and prepare."

"What about New Vegas and the Courier?" Iota asked as Epsilon left. "Won't they try and intervene once our invasion starts?"

"They can't! That's the beauty of it," Omicron replied confidently. "Those robots of theirs, effective though they are, can only operate safely and reliably within New Vegas borders. The Courier can't send them to the NCR and the only other things he has are his militia, a small Brotherhood chapter and the Boomers. We are more than capable of deleting all of those!"

"True," Delta agreed. "But keep an eye on his sector. Anyone strong and intelligent enough to defeat the NCR and the Legion is someone we ought to watch."

"That sounds like admiration, Imperator," Sigma observed.

"You should watch the footage of his battle against the Patriots, Sigma," Delta informed him. "It's not hard to see why. Tell our infiltrator teams to be on alert for any opportunity to acquire him. Jaden Storm will be a prize asset when fully upgraded."

"Absolutely Imperator," Omicron agreed.

"Good. Then go to your battalions and start preparations. In a week the NCR burns and then falls!"


	10. East meets (and fights) West

Ok, this isn't going as fast as I'd like, like you I'm eager to get the main event under way but I've got some more background and fillers to do first.

GcNm: Interesting site you found and an intriguing vault premise too, but I think you're right about it not being canon. I think it's an ideas website that tries to look like the official wiki site. I actually chose number 66 because 1966 was the year the Cybermen were created.

eaglescorch: Pride is ever the downfall of many a villain and there a few from the game you could say that about (Eden, Autumn, Ashur and Caesar to name a few). Delta has more than he should, it's true but he has more than a few reasons to be smug and proud.

Vect the Atoner: The cyborgs are an out of field faction that the Lone Wanderer has clashed with before in my last fic (read Steel Vengeance if you want their origins). Leon mellowed a little toward some of the Enclave too during that time. He probably wouldn't like House if he'd met him (he is similar to Eden on a few levels). The cyborgs don't know about Yes Man as yet as their info comes from the NCR and the Legion, neither of which knows about him, interesting idea though...

Oddliver: They had the sterile underground set up last time so I thought I'd try something different. Wait until you see what it's armed with :).

Time for a little more of the cyborgs' back history and the big 2 finally meet...and clash.

**Freeside**

Jaden knew the Phantom had picked a good spot for their meeting. Hardly anyone came out to the old railway station now that the NCR had cleaned out. Everyone had insisted on going with him despite Jaden's reservations; he didn't want to scare the Phantom off.

"That's hardly likely," Boone had reasoned. "Numbers don't seem to scare him."

"I'm not sure if anything scares him," Cass remembered her first encounter and the gruesome way he'd dispatched the Patriots with a shudder.

The whole party had reached the back of the railway station by now. Jaden hadn't been here since he'd broken up a firefight between the NCR and Pacer awhile ago.

Ashley looked confused. "Ok, it's midday now. So where is he?"

This time Jaden was alert and his combat instincts didn't fail him. "He's already here."

"Your senses aren't as bad as I thought," Leon decloaked a few feet away startling everyone except Jaden. "But then again I suppose you didn't expect me inside that big home of yours."

"The Dark Phantom, I presume," Jaden kept his tone neutral despite his nerves fraying a little. The Phantom in his dark armour was even more intimidating in person than he was on a screen.

Leon snorted. "Amazing what names these radio stations come up with. Not the most flattering one I've ever had but I suppose it served the purpose and kept me hidden."

"From what I've seen you do it's hard to believe you need that at all," Cass couldn't believe someone this strong felt the need to stay out of sight. "Thanks for the other day at Novac by the way."

"Don't mention it," Leon replied. "I never did have much time for Raiders no matter what cause they claimed to serve."

"And what cause do you serve?" Arcade asked suspiciously.

"Something better than the one that built that floating piece of tin hovering next to you," Leon replied with some acid in his tone as he spotted ED-E.

ED-E spluttered in mid-air almost angrily.

"What's wrong with ED-E?" Jaden asked somewhat confused.

"With the robot, nothing at all. With the cause it served; quite a lot." Leon tossed his holotag over to Jaden.

"Paladin Commander, eastern chapter?" Jaden raised his eyebrows as he read that. This warrior was well out of his home turf if this was accurate.

"The Brotherhood has a base elsewhere?" Boone asked in shock.

Veronica nodded. "There was a large faction in the Brotherhood that refused to join the war against the NCR and split away. They were led by Elder Olwyn Lyons and Scribe Rothchild if I remember right."

"That's right, except Lyons has retired and Rothchild's now Elder," Leon informed them.

"You're a long way from home then," Ashley observed. "It must be for something real important."

"I'd hardly be here were it otherwise," Leon agreed. "And it's bigger than you think. It's not just New Vegas at risk."

"At risk from what?" Veronica asked. She knew it had to be big if it had got a Brotherhood chapter running scared.

Leon smiled coldly under his mask. "Well I find some things are better shown than told and, as good as your friends are, I'm still not sure you're capable enough to handle this threat."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Cass barked indignantly.

"Just what I said. You're tough and capable, sure. I'm just not certain whether that's enough."

"We drive the Legion away from Hoover Dam and you doubt us?" Even Boone's pride was starting to get hurt.

"That's just the problem; you judge yourselves against the enemies you've had up to now. Raiders, Tribals, robots, the Legion. They're all nothing compared to what's waiting now," Leon countered.

"So your plan is to show us? You're going to do that all by yourself?" Ashley asked with a mocking tone.

"If you wish," Leon smirked.

Ashley couldn't work out where his confidence was coming from. ""Just you against 7 of us and we're all armed?"

"Well now that you mention it..."

Before anyone could stop him Leon activated his stealth mode again and slipped out of sight.

"Oh great," Jaden muttered whilst giving Ashley a frigid look. So much for a cordial meeting.

"Looks like we're doing this the hard way," Boone got ready with his rifle and the rest of the team wasted no time in drawing their weapons.

"Stay close, if we do that he can't take us all," Ashley advised as she starting aiming around with her service rifle. She ended up in a circle back to back with Boone, Raul was next to him with his 44 one side, Cass on the other with her caravan shotgun and Arcade had drawn his plasma defender. Jaden and Veronica stood some distance away separately, Veronica with her power fist raised and Jaden scanning around with his pip boy. Despite their best efforts the Phantom had eluded them.

"Can you see him?" Raul asked as they all looked here, there and everywhere.

"He's right here!"

"Wha...?" Raul didn't have time to think before the Phantom decloaked right next to them and his gun was knocked out of his hands and sent flying by a black fist. Cass and Boone had no more luck as they too were disarmed by high speed punches. Arcade tried to aim for his head but the Phantom moved his head to one side as he fired and his shot flew past into nowhere. Ashley whirled around fast but Leon grabbed her rifle by the barrel and her shot was wasted too.

Jaden and Veronica were agape at how quickly the tables had turned. Jaden knew the Phantom had to be using his VATS system; the speed with which he disarmed his friends didn't seem possible any other way. Leon didn't let up either. He kept going by disarming Arcade; sending his defender skittering across the floor and then, to the amazement of everyone, he trashed Ashley's rifle by literally bending the barrel. He finished off with a massive kick to Ashley's chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her into everyone behind finishing with them as a dazed heap on the floor.

Veronica wasn't about to let that pass as she ran at Leon full speed with her power fist cocked. She knew that even if he tried to block it she could fracture his arm or something. Not the way it turned out. Leon saw her coming, calmly turned to face her, clenched his right arm into a fist and blocked her punch easily sending a stunned Veronica stumbling back with a cry of pain. It was like she'd slammed her hand into a brick wall.

"Veronica!" Jaden was at her side instantly as she decoupled her power fist to tend to her hand.

"God, his arms are like concrete!" Veronica was aghast. The force of her punch had backfired and she knew she was lucky to get away with a bruised knuckle.

"Poor performance indeed," Leon scoffed. "I hope you've got more to offer, Courier, or this is going to be a very short battle."

Jaden snarled and drew his katana. If this guy wanted a battle he'd give him one. He'd taken out Lanius, he could do this.

"Nice sword," Leon nodded in approval as he popped out his serrated sword blade from his right arm. "Now let's see if you can use it..."

**Sky Carrier**

Delta coldly smiled as he sat in his command chair on the carrier's bridge. He'd had a much easier time of rebuilding the cyborg race than he'd ever dreamed possible. It was hard to imagine that only three years ago he and a few other remaining cyborgs had fled from Vault 66 in Vertibirds. Now, through a mix of skill, opportunity and luck, he had a new cyborg army and another chance to establish the new order that their late creator Alpha had dreamed of. Their initial landing site, an abandoned Enclave airfield outpost in the middle of north Nevada, had been perfect for starting their recovery. Out in the middle of nowhere and well off any caravan routes, it was tailor made for setting up a new conversion plant and starting over. In the past it had been a stop off point for Alpha, when he was still Henry Vaughan, on his way over to Vault 66.

The Enclave had stopped here too to recover as much technology and weapons as possible and move on. The mobile crawler had been stored here in preparation to expand their operations eastward after the California operation had been completed; instead they'd had to use it to aid their retreat from the NCR/Brotherhood alliance before they were discovered again. What no one had ever known was that the crawler was their second choice of vehicle. The first choice Delta was sitting in now. The Enclave had built the sky carrier but they'd run into technical problems and hadn't been able to get it operational. Richardson's defeat ran them out of time and ensured they never would; forcing them to use the ground crawler and head for Raven Rock to start their ill fated Capital Wasteland campaign.

Initially progress had been slow at first on all fronts. Being out in the sticks guaranteed no chance of discovery but it also meant there weren't any settlements to prey on. They'd had to start small, using the Vertibirds for transport into Oregon and the Nevada/California border to make snatch raids there. It took the best part of a year to build up a decent force of replacement drones to expand their conversion capability.

The west coast had proved to be a fertile recruiting ground for him. While he'd stayed clear of the two biggest factions, the NCR and Caesar's Legion, there were plenty of wastelanders and settlers for him to make use of. They'd never been detected; people went missing all the time and, more often than not, he and his other cyborgs hadn't had to use force to take people into his fold. By sending out camouflaged cyborgs like Omicron and Rho it was easy. Promises of food, shelter and a better life made for easy recruitments. Of course no one told the hapless recruits that the 'better life' involved cyber upgrade but that would kind of defeat the purpose.

"A pity the Enclave isn't still around isn't it?" Iota had come up in the elevator to join him.

"Yes, I suppose we owed them a thank you note for leaving this ship to us," Delta smirked. "I'd have given them that before painfully deleting them once and for all. Still there's plenty of old world waste left to destroy."

"True enough," Iota agreed. "The NCR first of all. _New _California Republic, what a pathetic name. What's so new about an old world Washington style political set-up? Or the resource wars they've been involved in? Not to mention the corruption of many of their 'leading' families like the Van Graffs. There's nothing new in this at all!"

"Very true," Delta agreed. "The base degenerates that make up Caesar's Legion are hardly an improvement either. Pretending to live two millennia in the past and trying to turn the world's clock back is a pitiful delusion at best. They'll make good drones if nothing else."

"Is Gamma's task force in position?" Iota asked.

"Yes, Epsilon just joined with him on the north border. The attack begins in a few hours. It should prove a good field test for our new beam weapons and the other new equipment we gave them."

"And our new fighters? When do those get deployed?" Iota's tone indicated she couldn't wait to see that.

Delta smiled as he looked at a bank of camera displays, in particular the one showing the launch hangar. It was full to the brim with what Leon would have recognised as Zeta scout craft only they'd been beefed up still further with high output laser guns and rocket pods.

"When phase 3 begins they'll be the first wave of our attack, I must admit I'm looking forward to seeing how they perform too..."

**Freeside**

Ten minutes on and a sweating and stunned Jaden was still fighting a not so tired Leon. He couldn't believe the strength, reflexes and the endurance of his opponent. Both had taken hits, Jaden's left arm had been gashed and Leon had taken a similar injury across his chest. Since then Jaden hadn't been able to do much, it was taking everything he had just to block Leon's attacks and stay on his feet. His friends couldn't help him as they'd been ambushed by Yuna and Dan and were now being held at laser rifle gunpoint.

Leon was impressed by Jaden's skills too. He'd lasted a lot longer than most opponents Leon encountered nowadays, which was saying a lot since most didn't last 30 seconds in close combat before suffering a snapped neck or some other lethal injury. But then again Jaden was almost a cyborg in his own right as Leon's wide spectrum vision had told him when they'd first met. If not for his medical implants and Big Empty cybernetic organ augments Jaden would have been in real trouble by now.

Jaden was fast running out of moves. He'd lost count of how many times their swords had clashed and how many thrusts and parries he'd been through. Apart from the strike to the chest nothing seemed to faze the Phantom at all. There was only one area he hadn't gone for, the reason being he didn't want to kill the Phantom outright, but since nothing else was working...

Boone and the others could only watch helplessly as the two warriors duelled.

"I can't believe this!" Arcade blurted. "No-one's ever been able to outpace Jaden!"

"Even Lanius couldn't last this long!" Even Boone was starting to sound grim.

Dan overheard that. "Funny, I was about to say something similar. Your leader's done better than anyone I've ever known. But Leon's not your usual opponent!"

Jaden gripped his katana in both hands with the blade pointed behind him in a classic samurai stance. His legs were a little wobbly but he wasn't backing down. _Ok this is it...all or nothing!_

Leon was taken aback as Jaden ran straight at him screaming in almost focused rage. He snapped back to reality just in time and pulled his head back as Jaden's katana blade carved upwards, slicing and gashing the left side of his face and knocking off his visor. He staggered backward, clutching the bleeding wound.

"Did he do it?" Cass asked.

Yuna and Jake looked on in some concern but they needn't have worried.

Leon started chuckling and stood up again much to Jaden's surprise but then Leon dropped his hands and Jaden's mouth dropped open in complete shock.

First off Leon's wound was self regenerating, albeit slowly, but it was healing. The second shock was Leon's eyes; blood red with gold irises which Jaden knew for sure weren't natural.

"Not bad. Not bad at all!" Leon said in genuine admiration. "But there's an old saying, he who hesitates is lost!"

With that Leon shot out his reinforced leather whip from his left wrist and wrapped up Jaden's legs. Before Jaden knew what was happening he was flat on his back on the ground, his sword arm trapped under Leon's left foot and Leon's sword blade at his throat.

"I believe the expression is 'I win'!" Leon smiled frostily.

"JADEN!" All his companions were aghast but what happened next took everyone by surprise. ED-E flew full steam at the downed Jaden, armed his laser and positioned himself neatly between the two men; spluttering, shaking and almost bleeping expletives. The little robot's intent couldn't be clearer.

"Looks like I underestimated you too," Leon mused as he started to see the protective little eyebot in a new light. "You're sentient, aren't you?"

"He's a close friend," Jaden revealed. He was humbled by ED-E's protective hovering although embarrassed it had come to this. Even Lanius had never put him on his back.

"That's obvious," Leon grinned as he stood off and retracted his blade. "Well he needn't worry. If I'd wanted you all dead I'd have done it in your apartment earlier and I'd have been long gone before your corpses had been found."

He nodded at Dan and Yuna who stood down and lowered their guns. Jaden's group ran over to help him back to his feet, warily avoiding the Lone Wanderer who was retrieving his visor.

"Ok, you kicked our asses and you're pretty powerful," Ashley admitted grudgingly. "But what was all that supposed to do besides humiliating us?"

"Proving a point," Leon icily retorted. "As you can see I'm not exactly human anymore and nor are the enemies you're about to face. You've got courage and guts but that only gets you so far. Better you learned that from me than from them."

"Just what the hell are you?" Jaden had to ask. "You're stronger than anything I've ever fought and I've fought a _lot_."

"Your moves told me that much," Leon started to unzip the protective wrist covers on his armour. "They would have killed most people. But as you can see..."

Everyone gasped in horror as Leon finished removing his arm guards and revealed his true nature. Both arms were pure solid silvery metal.

Veronica found her voice first. "That's Adamantium! Holy...how much of you is...?"

"Arms, legs, skull and skeleton," Leon replied coldly. "Oh plus self healing medical and combat implants and of course the new improved optics. To put it bluntly; I'm a cyborg and so are your new enemies. Difference is I have a soul...and they don't!"

**NCR north border**

An impatient Gamma and his 800 strong task force were in position and eager to go. Epsilon's arrival hadn't exactly helped his mood either.

"I thought we were supposed to delete and destroy anything in our way," he'd argued when Epsilon had arrived and explained the reason for his presence.

"I'm only looking for one subject or two, ten at the outside," Epsilon countered. "It's not that much to ask is it?"

"I suppose not," Gamma conceded. "And you'll be useful to have with us when we deploy the new nanotech drones; if there are any problems we'll have an expert on hand."

"Just don't sideline me," Epsilon warned. "I'm here to get combat experience too."

"You'll get plenty of that, don't worry. The local populace is reported to have a basic level of armament and the NCR will send its military here sooner or later."

He was interrupted by a call from the carrier over his radio.

"Task force leader, report!"

"Gamma to carrier, task force is ready and fully operational."

"Excellent," Delta replied. "Commence phase 2 forthwith. March south through the valley in front of you and decimate every settlement you encounter. There are to be no survivors except what you take for the Prometheus program. Your objective is to reach the New Reno/Shady Sands border by any means necessary."

"And if the NCR sends the bulk of its army to confront us?" Gamma asked with a smile as he knew what the answer was going to be.

"Then show those pathetic organics how our weapons work and how superior our race really is to them!" Delta replied. "First things first, sweep the valley and clear out the settlements. Begin at once."

"Complying!" Gamma switched frequencies on his radio. "Gamma to all sections; prepare to commence offensive operations. Standard drones will lead with devastators in close support. Arachnotrons will monitor the skies and support the main force as needed. Delete all opposition! Today the NCR falls and Cyberia will rise!"

"Looks like I'll get some experience sooner than I thought!" Epsilon was more than a little pleased.

"Yes, but be cautious. If you are accidentally deleted then I will be too when this is over! Stay close to the main battle group and take no unnecessary risks."

"Understood."

With that the two lead cyborgs left the watch tower to join the rest of their hybrid force as they began to march south. They'd been sending false radio reports back to the NCR over the last day and there'd been no inspections due on the border posts. In short, no one knew they were even there yet, a fact that would soon change when the small towns, villages and other settlements in front started to fall.

Gamma expected a lot of opposition once they were through the valley, not that he was very worried by that prospect, far from it. True to his programming and his Imperator, Gamma hated organic human life but he was contemptuous of the NCR. A corrupt shell of the old America that enriched just an elite few and justified it all by flaunting their democracy and rule of law as though they were religions.

In his previous life Gamma had been a wasteland settler who'd run from a land dispute with the NCR and an easy target for Delta's recruitment drive. In fact his bitterness and hatred had run so deep that, when he was confronted by the truth about his 'benefactors', he'd actually _requested _cyber upgrade. Much like Delta, his hatred and fiery personality had been enhanced through it and now he was about to perform a tit for tat. The NCR had driven him away, now he would return the favour and evict them...out of existence.


	11. New cyber dawn

Oh man, finally. Not been a good time for me. Just had a family funeral and my spirit's a little low :(. But I'm not letting it get me down and I'm not giving up!

Aky141: Glad you like those, I find the fight scenes the hardest to write believe it or not.

Oddliver: Yes the pre-war government knew about the Zeta but never got to grips with their technology. The cyborgs have alas...you've not seen all the carrier has yet :).

GcNm: On evil deliveries yes I suppose Wesker does win. I'm keeping my eye on your fic rest assured :).

eaglescorch: I'm sure not pulling the plug now even if I am off familiar turf and working off the fallout wiki and its maps. The war is just about to get going.

Ok, a little Lone Wanderer back history to join with the last fic and the cyborgs let slip the dogs of war...

**Lucky 38 penthouse**

After the united group had got back to the penthouse Leon pre-empted question time and started to explain everything. His initial start and escape from Vault 101, his father and Project Purity, the Enclave and their disaster of a reclamation attempt and, most importantly, the cyborgs and the Battle of Baltimore Haven.

Leon had brought recorded footage from the battle, recorded from the settlement's cameras and those on the Brotherhood Vertibirds when they'd swooped in to the rescue. Needless to say Jaden and his friends were more than overawed when they saw it. Cass and Boone in particular weren't feeling so self confident once the tape had finished.

"Getting a clearer picture now?" Leon asked. "That was 500 cyborgs with some heavy support. The troops fighting them were Enclave; they had first line power armour and plasma weapons but even that wasn't enough. Without the Brotherhood and the other backup flying in at the last minute we'd have lost for sure."

"Ok so you weren't exaggerating," Cass replied. "But there's one thing I don't get. You said you destroyed those cyborgs at Baltimore, you went back to the vault they came from, you killed their leader and then the vault blew up..."

"...So what am I doing out here warning you about all of this?" Leon finished for her. "Well to put it bluntly we screwed up. We did do all you just said and then with Vault 66 destroyed and Alpha dead, we assumed that was the end of it. We were wrong."

"What's worse we only discovered this about three months ago," Dan took over. "The Brotherhood was widening its salvage and procurement runs, one party happened to go out to Baltimore and what was left of Vault 66 and picked up a transmission. It was coming from underneath the vault."

Leon switched holotapes in Yes Man's console to give them a viewing. He remembered the day he'd first seen this like it was yesterday...

**Flashback-The Citadel, 3 months previously**

"Still no change then Doc?"

Doc Farnsworth, now a Scribe in the Brotherhood, looked very apologetic. "I'm afraid not, Leon."

Leon was looking in on the comatose bodies of his one and only love Amata and his other close friend Jake Corey. Through a mix of bad luck and fate the two had walked into a trap set for him by the vengeful Mr Burke and got trapped in an irradiated chamber; Burke was trying to be poetic at the time in the nature of the trap but it hadn't exactly gone to plan. Firstly, and obviously, it didn't work. The wrong people walked into it, Fawkes had been with them at the time and he'd been able to pull them out. Secondly was the reaction of the Lone Wanderer and the Brotherhood when they found out what had gone down and who was behind it. Burke and his Talon Company backers had planned on some Brotherhood retaliation, what they had _not_ counted on was a full scale all out Brotherhood offensive led by a still alive, souped up and bloody vengeful cyborg Lone Wanderer. By day's end Burke, Daniel Littlehorn and their Talon backers were dead...and all had died screaming. 4 weeks, and a lot of bedside vigils later, Amata and Jake still hadn't awoken.

"Ok Doc, just keep me posted," Leon finally grunted before starting to walk back to the main lab.

"Leon, don't ever give up hope!" Farnsworth tried to bolster Leon's spirit though he wasn't having much luck. "Their life signs are stable; they're in good condition now that their rad count has gone down. You woke up from your coma and so will they."

"Yeah...when? It's been 4 weeks now Doc," Leon wasn't buying it. He knew full well coma victims could wake up next week, next month or maybe not at all. "Something tells me I'm in this for the long haul."

"Still nothing?" A heartbroken Yuna Lawson joined them in the medical room. Jake was the love of her life and she was in the same agonizing situation.

Leon put an arm around Yuna to comfort her. "Sorry Yuna. Not yet."

"God, how much longer will they stay like that, Leon?" Yuna sniffled. "When is this going to end?"

"I don't know," Leon answered honestly. "But we have to..."

"LEON!" Dan burst through the door looking panicked out of his skin.

"What's wrong?" Leon had never seen Dan as shaken up as this.

"A tech scavenging party's just come back. You should come, both of you. Let's just say it's real bad news!"

Both hurried after Dan to the main lab where the now Elder Rothchild was speaking frantically with Sentinel Sarah Lyons.

"It's unfortunate we didn't find this sooner." Rothchild was saying.

Sarah grunted in agreement as she saw Leon and Yuna approach. "No kidding. You need to see this, both of you. It's from a scavenging run we sent up to Baltimore, specifically the remains of Vault 66. The team found a transmission playing over the Vault-Tec frequencies and we tracked it to its source: a secret exit underneath the vault. A part that didn't self destruct."

Both Yuna and Leon exchanged a look of horror as Sarah went over to a holotape projector, pointed it at a hastily erected screen and hit the play button. The horror only magnified as Alpha's face appeared on screen and reintroduced himself.

"...this is my last will and testament. The vault computers have been instructed to engage this recording if they failed to receive an update from me at this time and once new base arrangements had been confirmed. I can only assume that I am now incapacitated beyond repair or deleted outright." Bizarrely Alpha's face seemed to sneer once he'd finished that sentence. "So what will I leave this disgusting, broken, power hungry world to remember me by? I leave a fully reborn cyborg race. A race that will rise from the ashes of whatever defeat we suffered like a phoenix. One that will improve, rebuild, return one day and avenge. If whoever defeated me is watching, then know this: you have failed. My children still function and they will have their moment yet..."

Sarah switched off the projector. "I'm afraid it gets worse Leon. As you've already guessed this wasn't a hollow threat made in his dying hours. The team downloaded everything off the computers down there. They pulled off this camera recording too."

Everyone watched in a mix of horror, anger and anguish as they saw Delta and Iota, along with several other cyborgs, board a Vertibird on the underground landing pad before the roof opened and it took off.

"They survived!" Yuna sobbed as she wasn't able to stop the tears flowing. "Those bastards survived while we lost everything!"

"GODDAMN IT!" Leon raged as Dan comforted Yuna. "I _knew _something was wrong, Alpha just giving himself to us like that. Why didn't I see this sooner?"

"Because you're not God and you're not infallible, Leon," Rothchild assured him. "How could any of you have foreseen this? Especially given the short time you had to work with before the vault self destruct."

"Maybe," Leon sighed. "But this means they got away, they're out there somewhere and they've had three years head start!"

"Well there's one bright spot in this, Leon," Sarah explained. "We might not be able to track them exactly but we've pinned down the region they went to."

"And that was?"

"The west coast region. Specifically in the Nevada area."

2 hours later Leon was in Grayditch packing up his best gear and getting ready for a long trip.

"I just wish you didn't have to do this now," Alphonse Almodovar complained. "I owe you so much for what you've done already but with Amata still asleep..."

"I know!" Leon didn't want to either given that but he had no choice at all. "Believe me I want to stay here until she wakes up. But this is a threat we can't let go. If the roles were reversed...I know she'd go too."

Alphonse nodded. He'd seen the battle footage from Baltimore and knew the truth of that.

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Take over my vigil," Leon asked. "Look after her for when I return, and I _will _return I can promise you that."

"Coming from anyone else that would sound ridiculous," Alphonse smiled. "I know better than to question it when it comes from you. I'll take care of her, you just come back alive. Is Sarah going with you?"

Leon grimaced. "No she's not. Rothchild ordered her to stay back here in her command role; something I think he might regret. She'll give him no end of headaches if I know her. Dan Kerrigan's going, he's been in that area before and I need his scout expertise over there. Yuna's with us too."

"Is that wise?" Alphonse's eyebrows had risen at hearing that.

"Wise or not I'm stuck with it," Leon reasoned. "Delta's still alive and he was the one who killed her father. She has a right to go as she's a Knight now and experienced enough. I know how she feels; it'd cause more trouble if I didn't take her."

"Just the 3 of you? Is that enough?"

"It has to be. We don't have the transport to ship the Brotherhood army across the continent," Leon reasoned. "Rothchild needs all the troops here anyway. The Talons are on their last legs and if we can push them out Littlehorn's associates are finished. Not the time to let up on the pressure there."

"I'd agree," Alphonse replied with some malice. After what had happened to his daughter he was in no mood to show any mercy to Talon Company or their partners. "All I can say then is good luck."

An hour later Leon was in a Vertibird with Dan and Yuna heading west into the unknown.

**Lucky 38 penthouse**

"So you dropped everything and came all the way across the country out here?" Cass was amazed.

"Pretty much," Leon sighed. "Not that we had any luck tracing them until now. We had no precise fix on their final location so we ended up doing what I used to do a lot; wandering the wastes and hoping to catch some clues. We heard about the Battle of Hoover Dam, came over here and discovered your Patriot problems and...well here we are."

"And you're sure it's them behind all this?" Jaden asked.

"We haven't had an actual encounter yet but I found two dead Patriots the other day. Their bodies were left in the same state as some of the Baltimore victims. Then there's their use of an eyebot recording your battle; they did the same thing back east too. Every instinct I've got says it's them," Leon was certain despite not having any proof.

"Ok so if it is, what are they after?" Arcade's concern was rising by the minute.

"The same thing as last time; to upgrade or delete every human they come across," Leon wasn't mincing words. "If they're ready to go now and in position, I'd say the NCR will be the New Cyber Republic in a fortnight, maybe less."

Ashley's heart plummeted. "And I suppose there's no negotiating with them?"

"Not a chance," Leon scoffed. "As far as they're concerned humanity's an obsolete embarrassment that's outlived its time. You're either a cyborg or you're dead; there's no in between or grey area with them."

Jaden nodded. "Right. Well since we're headed for war again we'd better start guessing where their next move will come from. Yes Man, can you bring up a map of the NCR?"

"Oh, with great pleasure!"

"Someday you'll have to do something about that computer," Veronica muttered.

"No kidding, Boss," Raul put in his two cents. "If he had a body and he bent over any further for you he'd fall on his ass!"

That got a laugh out of everyone. Soon after Yes Man generated a pip-boy style map on his screen.

"Ok," Arcade mused. "Looks like we have to break out our crystal balls now."

"Not so much that. We just have to think like an invader," Jaden reasoned. "If you wanted to take the NCR apart how would you do it? Go straight at the Capital, Shady Sands? Or something different first?"

The question was largely aimed at Cass, Boone and Ashley. All three began to feel a little uncomfortable at the thought of giving away NCR secrets and locations, albeit to a semi-friendly nation.

Jaden quickly saw the problem. "Guys, if we don't do this your country's going to get smashed anyway and there won't be any reason to keep secrets will there?"

"Good point," Boone sighed. "All right...well if I were them I'd try going in from the north. I know most of the big targets, like the Hub and Maxson are all in the south but the borders there are very well guarded and patrolled."

"That's why the Legion wanted Vegas so badly," Jaden realised. "If they'd got it most of the NCR border defences would have been bypassed."

"I wouldn't go through Mexico either, Boss," Raul reasoned. "Too many radiation zones and Raiders."

"So which way would they come from? Oregon or Nevada?" Cass wondered.

"Which is least defended?" Leon asked.

"Nevada," Boone answered. "It's mostly desert that way, not much wildlife and no Raiders. There's electric fences and border posts but not much more."

Leon nodded "Just basic patrols?"

"Yes, that's the way they'll come isn't it?"

"It's one of the ways I'd go. If you went fast enough you could reach the capital pretty quick and you could carve the NCR in two, but it all depends if that'll be their main attack."

"Their _main _attack?" Cass didn't like the sound of that.

"If I were in command I'd think of using a feint or two," Leon explained. "And as I said, that's only one way I'd think of going."

"Where else is there then?" Arcade seemed confused.

"Here." Leon pointed his finger at the ocean and moved it east over the map ashore.

"The ocean? How the hell's that going to work?" Cass was incredulous.

"We need to find out. According to your trace the eyebot signals were transmitted out there, weren't they Jaden?"

"He's right, they were," Jaden admitted. "I thought the equipment might have been wrong at the time but now you've shown us this...I'm not so sure anymore."

"How good a range have your transmitters got?" Leon was thinking quickly on his feet.

"Way ahead of you, Leon," Jaden grinned. "I pointed them west after we beat Oliver and we've been looking out for more of those signals ever since. I'll call Black Mountain and see if they have any updates."

**Cold River- a small settlement NE of New Reno**

The day had started out pretty normal and like any other for the inhabitants of the small farming settlement. It was a similar size to Goodsprings only a little larger and the houses were more developed. Beyond the local saloon, trading post and farms it didn't have much in the way of people or actual importance. All these facts were driving Kelly Gordon, Ashley's younger sister, to work hard and get noticed by someone high in the NCR military.

18 years old, a first rate mechanic and a tomboy like her sister, much to her father's chagrin; Kelly idolized her sister and hoped to follow her into the army. She currently spent her days repairing any weapons and armour that came her way and looking after her dad, who wasn't incapable but a little too headstrong for his own good usually.

Bill Gordon, known as 'Big Bull' to his friends, had been a rancher and a farmer all his life. He'd moved the family away from New Reno to a smaller farm here three months back. It'd been a blow to the family finances, for sure, but he'd rather have that than the alternative; having to sacrifice the happiness of his daughters. To cut a long story short the Van Graffs had been pressuring the family before they'd moved, trying to coerce Kelly into a wedding with one of the younger brothers. Bill knew it wasn't his girl they were really after, but a way to get hold of his farm over time. Everyone knew the Van Graffs were in big shit trouble following the caravan scandal and were looking to build up and recoup anyway they could.

Well, Bill decided he wasn't going to play their game no matter what they offered. Kelly had bluntly told him that she would rather fuck a Deathclaw than get involved any Van Graff vipers. Bill sold up the very next day and to Heck Gunderson no less. Heck, a shrewd businessman who never missed an opportunity, paid Bill over the odds to make sure he secured a deal. Normally he wouldn't have paid out that much but he had the same view of the Van Graffs as Bill and took any chance to knock the ground out from under their feet. Even the Van Graffs had to think twice, especially in their weakened state, before crossing Hurricane Heck.

As for Bill he'd moved the family out lock, stock and barrel to Cold River, in Vault City's state jurisdiction where the Van Graffs had no influence whatsoever. The senator there was new and very hostile to the Van Graffs plus there was Bill's close friendship with Colonel Moore. Her familial connections and ruthless pit bull tendencies put paid to any thoughts of vengeance ideas the Van Graffs might have had.

All of which meant they were in a smaller farm and small town but it was comfortable and it was much better than many in this world had. Kelly, however, wasn't satisfied with it, which was why she was in her workshop/garage right now putting the finishing touches on restoring the old four seat buggy she'd been working on since they'd moved here. The last house owner had simply abandoned it after having a half hearted attempt at putting it back together. Kelly hadn't given up so easily. She'd put on a new engine core, reinforced it with Adamantium protective coating and got it to the point where she could test drive it, well probably. Ok so it hadn't been road tested yet but it was mechanically complete, it had good passenger capacity and protection and looked better than most of the wrecked vehicles she'd seen.

"Someone's got a cruuuush!"

"I do not!"

Kelly grinned as she heard the voices outside. "Hi Cody!"

Sure enough, 12 year old Cody Griffin's head poked around the door, his spiky brown hair sticking out of the blue headband and goggles that he always wore.

"Hi Kelly! See you later John," his voice dropped a not so subtle hint at his unseen friend who quickly got it.

"Ok fine, fine. I'll leave you two alone, lover boy!"

"Jerk!"Cody grimaced before slamming the door. "You got it working, Kelly? Need any more parts?"

Kelly shook her head no as she suppressed a smile. She knew Cody's friend was right, Cody did have a crush on her; not that she minded because he'd helped her get a lot of spare parts from his dad's junkyard that she'd needed.

"Well I've got something to show you this time!" Cody grinned.

Kelly was wondering what useless piece of junk he'd got a hold of this time. Her prepared sarcastic remark disintegrated as she saw what he held; namely a pip boy 3000.

"Where'd you get that?" Kelly, for once, was amazed.

"Incredible what people throw away," Cody grinned. "It only needed a little repair on its circuits and now it works perfectly." Cody snapped it onto his wrist and started pushing buttons bringing up the local map function. "See?"

"This time I'm impressed," Kelly admitted. "When did you find it?"

"Couple of weeks back. Managed to get it up and running last weekend and...hey it's never done _that _before!"

"What?" Kelly saw Cody's face crunched up in concern.

"This sensor here. It detects people at a distance but it always shows them as green dots, I've never seen red ones before."

"Red?" Kelly's face grew alarmed. That was one thing she did remember about pip-boys. They always had a personal radar and any threats, be that human or otherwise, always showed up in red. "That means trouble. Which direction are they coming from?"

"North, oh my god my dad's scrapyard's that way!"

"Cody hang on!" Kelly ran after the panicked boy as he flung open the door and ran headlong down the street...

**Ranger HQ-NCR**

"You heard everything, I presume?" Moore caught up with Hsu as they went up the stairs towards Koenig's office.  
"Heard it? I _read _it," Hsu spat in disgust as he passed her a copy of the NCR Times. "The press is going to town on us."

Moore's heart sank as she read the headline. "Patriot terrorists led by NCR general. Wonderful! Was the body returned?"

"No, on account of it being inside a Deathclaw's stomach," Hsu said without a trace of humour. "We got video confirmation of it. Moron tried to swim over to Legion territory to get away; he went straight into a nest of those things. New Vegas isn't returning any other bodies either, in their words 'Raiders and terrorists don't get common courtesies.'"

"The political fallout's going to be bad," Moore groaned.

"This has finished Kimball for certain," Hsu surmised. "Oliver was his close friend and his appointment. It was a political risk long before this and it didn't come off. Even with 2 more years to run his presidency's had a ton of shit dumped on it."

"Assuming he lasts that long," Moore replied cynically. "I take it he's trying to figure ways around New Vegas' sanctions."

"Yes. But he won't succeed because there aren't any. The Courier has cut us off completely, no power from the dam, no caravans, no nothing."

"Can we get Crocker to talk him around?" Moore asked. "We know those 2 are friends."

"Crocker's been expelled, last I heard," Hsu shot that down. "Besides nothing could talk Jaden or anyone else down now, he's trapped. His people are baying for NCR blood. It's taken everything he's got to keep our citizens on his own turf safe. He can't back down or his own people will turn on him. Assassinating him wouldn't work either, it'd only get us someone even worse in charge and we'd be prime suspects anyway."

Moore knew he was right. Oliver had dug the NCR a readymade grave and the Courier was about to push them into it. Both were under a cloud of gloom until they reached Chief Koenig's office and were met with a surprise. Senator Hanlon was already there in conversation with the Chief.

"You've got good timing," Koenig informed them. "We were about to call you in and bring you up to speed with the latest developments from Crocker in New Vegas."

"He's still there?" Moore's brow knotted in confusion.

Hanlon nodded. "Yes. It seems there's more going on than we thought, most of it not good..."

Both colonels were alarmed when they read the new dispatches. "The Courier's sure about all of this? There's someone else involved?" Moore eventually asked.

"The Courier's played it pretty smart," Koenig said in admiration. "The clues are there if you look hard for them and he's kept us in the loop by 'kidnapping' Crocker into the 38."

"But, apart from increasing our security everywhere, what do we do now?" Hsu wondered.

"Well, I would suggest we get ready to send our forces to the North," Koenig replied. "The north-east border to be precise. I just got some bad reports from New Reno; two of the settlements in that area have stopped checking in."

"Which ones?" Moore asked with rising concern.

"New Gideon and Beeton. Both are small settlements and sometimes have radio blackouts but never for this long."

"Haven't they sent patrols out to check?" Hsu asked.

"Of course they have. Only one problem: they didn't come back again," Koenig said grimly.

"Well I don't know about you but I'm going up there myself," Moore said with finality. "If the Courier's right, and he has been up to now, this could be the attack he was expecting."

"My advice, Cassandra, don't hold anything back," Hanlon warned. "If this mystery faction orchestrated the events in New Vegas and kept itself hidden while doing so then they're certainly not mere Raiders. Whoever they are expect them to have sharp teeth."

Moore and Hsu nodded before turning to leave. Hanlon couldn't possibly have known how right he was...

**Cold River**

Gamma was smiling coldly as his troops fell on the helpless settlement. He'd only sent in standard drones with a few Devastators. The newer Arachnotron heavy weapons cyborgs had been held back as long range support and cover. Gamma knew the Courier would be sickened if he knew about these. They'd been designed with the function of his Securitrons in mind. The conversion subjects were cut in half, quite literally, at the legs and then the torso was attached to a quadruped metal base before being augmented with further armour reinforcement. Their arms were then removed and replaced with chain guns or gatling lasers and missile packs were built in under the spot where metal and flesh met. They had targeting systems that were just as good as Jaden's Securitrons and they made excellent anti-air cover. Their legs also made good impaling tools for anyone foolish enough to get close to them.

"If you want some basic experience, Epsilon, now's the time," Gamma advised. "We should go down and lead from the front."

"I was hoping you'd say that!" Epsilon was enthusiastic.

Down in the town Kelly pursued Cody out of the door and emerged to a scene of terror. Half the settlement was on fire as energy weapon fire rained down on the houses, setting them ablaze. No ordinary energy fire either, Kelly had never seen blue laser fire before. Jerking herself back to reality she ran after Cody who was running for the scrapyard...and straight towards where the attackers were coming from.

Cody was more scared than he'd ever been in his young life. Almost insanely he was running into danger instead of away from it but the only thought he had was getting to his dad. He'd almost reached the entrance of the already ablaze scrapyard when Kelly caught up to him and simultaneously Champ, his small Labrador pup, ran out of the yard ahead of a pair of blue bolts yapping in terror and flew into Cody's arms.

"DAD!" Cody's tear filled eyes widened with horror. His dad had taken two bolts to his leg and was crawling out of the yard toward them.

Kelly just managed to hold the hysterical boy back as she saw the metal abominations emerging from the thick clouds of smoke. Gamma, Epsilon and two drones.

His dad looked back to see his impending death. "Cody, run! Kelly get him awa...!"

"Delete!"

He got no more out as the drone raised his blaster and reduced him to ash.

Cody froze. His mouth dropped open and he stared in a mix of disbelief and pure anguish as tears streamed out of his eyes. Kelly wasn't doing much better but her sense of self-preservation hadn't gone and that was just as well.

"It would appear that one meant something to those two, wouldn't you say Epsilon?" Gamma sneered.

"It would appear so," Epsilon replied in a matter of fact way. He didn't really share Gamma's cruel disposition.

"Well we should be merciful and make their pain as short as possible, should we not?" Gamma turned to the drones. "Delete them!"


	12. Desperate evasion

I haven't much to say this time except I'm back on my feet and writing again. Thanks for the continuing reviews/favs, they're keeping me in the game.

Zeref Alemer: Sure, Gamma's more malevolent than most cyborgs and one of Delta's favourites. He gets no better in this part!

Oddliver: Events make that difficult as you'll see but something for thought there.

eaglescorch: I wouldn't have put it quite like that. The Brotherhood simply don't have the transport to get their army across the continent and they're still locked in their own local problems.

Lambda494: Why don't you try writing, you might surprise yourself, I did last year. As to your second point, very unlikely. Unless you've got heavy explosive or high powered energy weapons you don't stand much chance against these cyborgs.

**Cold River**

The moment Kelly heard Gamma's chilling orders her survival instinct kicked in. She scooped up Cody and Champ in her arms and ran like the wind.

Gamma was about to motion the drones to go after them but Epsilon stopped him.

"Let them run."

Gamma was astounded. "What? But our orders..."

"As I said I'm testing Prometheus candidates. Those 2 are in the right age bracket and this will be a good test...for them and the Arachnotrons."

Gamma regained his smile as he reached for his radio. "I like how you think, Epsilon. Gamma to Arachnotron group, lock on to and delete humans escaping to the south..."

Kelly ran flat out toward her home without even looking back. Cody was still in shock and just allowed her to carry him with Champ still yapping away in panic.

"Dad! Are you here?" Kelly screamed as she slammed the garage door behind her.

Luckily the elder Gordon was already holed up in the garage waiting for them. "Kelly! Oh thank god! I suppose there's no way out?"

"Not on foot." Kelly quickly opened the back door of the buggy and gently laid Cody inside with Champ.

"Are you crazy, girl? You haven't even tested it yet!" Bill was in disbelief.

"No time like the present," Kelly wasn't in the mood for arguing. "It's either that or we face them. Take your pick!"

"Uh, good point!" Bill got into the front passenger seat and buckled up fast as Kelly opened the main doors, ran back and threw herself into the driver's seat.

"Ok, girl, don't fail me now!" Kelly muttered as she turned the key in the ignition...

**NV Vertibird flying over the NCR-Vegas border**

"Can't we go any faster?"

For once in her life Ashley was panicked out of her mind. She had been ever since Yes Man's trace had turned up another cyborg transmission less than a mile away from her family home. She'd begged Jaden to get her out there as fast as possible and hence the whole team was flying out there now on 2 Vertibirds, despite having to violate NCR airspace.

"This is as faster as I can go," the Boomer pilot called back. "Unless I wanted to blow the engine and I'd rather not if it's all the same to you."

"We'll get there don't worry," Jaden assured her. _I just hope it's in time!_ Needless to say he left that unsaid.

"Well now we've got some time to ourselves," Arcade spoke up. "What do we all think of Leon?"

Jaden and his inner circle had this Vertibird to themselves whilst Leon was riding on the one following behind with Yuna.

"Tough," Cass offered.

"Cold," Veronica followed up.

"I've no doubt ruthless too. To his enemies at least," Boone reasoned.

"There are good reasons for all that." They'd all forgotten that Dan Kerrigan was in the co-pilot's seat. He turned back to face them. "He only gave you the abridged version back there."

"Care to fill us in?" Jaden asked.

"I wasn't always Brotherhood," Dan revealed. "I was part of the Enclave once."

"You were part of the group that went eastward?" Arcade asked caused all eyes to turn his way. He sighed as he knew he'd have to reveal a little more of his past life. "When Richardson and the Enclave fell not everyone gave up. A large faction reunified under the command of a scientist named Autumn and they went eastward to try and re-establish elsewhere. I take it you were part of that, what happened?"

"We met the cyborg in the next ship, that's what happened," Dan sighed. "Though he wasn't a cyborg back then."

"What exactly went down?" Arcade asked with a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Pretty much the same mistakes that happened out here."

Dan quickly went through the disastrous Enclave operation. Eden's duplicity and secret infection plan, Autumn's bungled reclamation of Project Purity and then the systematic unravelling of the Enclave from there.

Arcade couldn't believe it. "Damn it...did they really learn _nothing _from what happened here?"

"Our leaders sure didn't," Dan muttered. "Eden thought the FEV plan of Richardson's was still viable and plotted to try again in secret. Autumn suspected he was up to something and might have been able to do something about it if he'd been a little less arrogant and more level headed. You know the real irony of it all? We'd heard of Leon and his exploits over the radio and through informants. The Lone Wanderer was someone we were hoping to recruit."

"After killing his dad? Fat chance!" Cass snorted.

Dan nodded. "Got it in one. Any chance we had of securing his help went on the first day. Autumn found that out when he tried interrogating Leon. Leon told him he wouldn't help him if he were the last thing alive on this earth, then he got a wad of spit in his face and told to go fuck himself. Eden stupidly thought he could talk Leon around...shit, more chance of me becoming President. He blew Eden, along with Raven Rock base, sky high."

"And Autumn?" Jaden wondered. He'd heard the name mentioned on ED-E's storage logs.

"Both hands broken then flung into a Mirelurk nest by Leon, who then just stood there and watched them rip him apart," Dan replied bluntly. "Leon's not that forgiving when he's riled."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Ashley shuddered as she remembered how he dealt with Howard Caldwell. Leon came across to her as an ice cold killer.

"But he's a loyal friend and there's no better ally on the battlefield," Dan reasoned. "Apart from you, Jaden, I've never seen anyone come close to beating him. Well except Alpha, but he's never getting a rematch!"

"His buddies might though," Raul warned. "Right about now actually!"

The Vertibirds were coming up fast on their destination and Raul had seen the clouds of smoke through the front window.

"Oh holy god...no!" Ashley was mortified. Her home was the source of that smoke.

"Shit, Leon was right! Look at the attackers," Jaden said with a grim expression. Even from this height the cyborgs' nature, given away by their metal limbs, armoured bodies and advanced guns, was obvious.

"What kind of weapons are those?" Arcade had never seen the like of what many of the cyborgs were using. The blue fire was devastating to anything it touched.

Back in the second Vertibird Leon felt a chill go down his spine. _As if things weren't bad enough already! How the fuck did they get Zeta alien technology?_

"You've seen those guns before?" Yuna had known Leon long enough to know his facial expressions.

"Yes and I never expected to see them again. Well not under these circumstances anyway."

Leon couldn't work out where the cyborgs' supply of atomizers, disintegrators and blasters had come from but he had no time to reflect on it. He grabbed the radio.

"Jaden! Someone's making a break for it! They've got some kind of buggy down there. It's going south."

"We'll fly ahead and meet up with them," Jaden replied. "Before they really do go south!"

**Cold River**

Kelly was an excellent mechanic. The buggy started on the first try and shot out of the garage like a bat out of hell. Most of the cyborgs were still concentrating on the town and massacring the remaining settlers and Kelly blew past them out into the fields with no problem. But then they started getting attention from the scuttling Arachnotrons who were a lot faster than they looked. Although the way ahead was clear the spider type cyborgs were closing in on them on both sides, firing as they came.

"Hang on!" Kelly slammed her foot onto the accelerator and the buggy shot forward through a hail of bullets and red laser fire.

"What the hell does it look like I'm doing?!" Bill shot back. It was good that he didn't have any ongoing health problems given the way he was getting slammed around as Kelly kept swerving at high speed. That he didn't mind, the bullets and lasers were another matter and he wisely sunk down into the seat, keeping his head low.

Kelly just concentrated on what was ahead of her. Dodging one or two rock formations then swerving away from a ditch, up onto the main road out of the town and out of the umbrella of gunfire the Arachnotrons were laying down.

Their leader, easily identifiable with A1 painted on his metal chest, opened a radio channel. "Arachnotron section to Gamma, targets are evading fire and leaving the area."

"Then use your heavy weapons, they must not escape and warn the NCR of our advance, it's too soon! Now delete them!"

"Complying. Arm rockets."

Kelly was starting to think they were going to make it...before 2 rockets exploded directly in front of her forcing her to swerve off the road once more. Instead of pulling back onto the road Kelly accelerated.

"What are you doing?" Bill's stomach was turning to mush.

"Getting cover that's what," Kelly shouted back. "If we stay on the road they'll have us. If we stay moving and get into the canyon ahead where the old rail line is they can't get a clear shot on us." Kelly wasn't military trained but she had been taught the basics by her sister in case of a Raider attack. She had no doubt the same principles applied here. Riveting her attention on the uneven ground ahead she stomped on the accelerator.

"Target is still active and evading."

Back in the town Gamma chafed in anger as he heard the Arachnotron leader's report. "I thought these Arachnotrons could deal with any threat!"

"They're still in combat testing and they were designed for heavy slow moving ground targets and anti-air operations," Epsilon reasoned. "Their long range targeting systems obviously have trouble locking on to fast moving ground targets and need to be improved. Arachnotron section, where is the target heading?"

"South-west. They will be entering a canyon and mountain terrain in one minute."

Epsilon smiled coldly. "Good. I'd planned for that little development too."

"Don't tell me you've got...?" Gamma gave Epsilon an admiring look as he realised.

"Just like my father, I plan ahead," Epsilon switched radio frequencies. "Epsilon to Prometheus acquisition group 1. Targets are heading your way..."

**NV lead Vertibird**

Jaden had taken both his Vertibirds higher and out of range once he saw the cyborgs' missile capability. The last thing he wanted was to get shot down and land in the slaughter below. Luckily the onboard cameras were keeping track of everything so they didn't have to stay low.

"That's my sister!" Ashley was more than relieved when she saw the buggy on screen. "I never thought that hunk of junk she was working on would ever run!"

"Good evasion moves," Boone noted. "Staying on the road would have got them killed for sure."

"Something's up," Jaden said with worry in his voice. "A few seconds ago they were pressing hard and giving it all they had. Why are those spider things backing off?"

"Yeah, he's right. They're still firing but they're slowing down," Cass realised.

The radio came to life. "Jaden, this is Leon. I don't know where that canyon they're going for comes out but I think we need to get there fast! I smell an ambush in there!"

"Shit!" Jaden cursed. "Fly ahead and see if there's a place to land away from the main group. We need to get down, rescue them and get out fast!"

"But the town!" Ashley exclaimed. "We can't just leave...!"

"Yes we can because we have to," Jaden's tone brooked no argument. "We've got nothing like enough to stop that lot. With what they're armed with and their numbers they'll just walk over us. We get your sister and whoever's with her and that's it!"

**Canyon SW of Cold River**

"Are they still after us, Dad?" Kelly asked as she drove down the old railway line inside the canyon.

"I don't think so," Bill looked back quickly and saw no Arachnotrons coming down the tracks behind them. That was strange as far as Bill was concerned. They'd been raining hell down on them all the way from the town and these cyborgs didn't strike Bill as the type to give up, at least not easily.

"OK then," Kelly mused. "According to the map we've got another mile or two and we'll be out of this. Then we can swing south to...OH SHIT!"

They'd swung around a big right turn to find 4 drones and 2 devastator cyborgs right in front. Epsilon, ever his father's son, had anticipated escape attempts and placed small patrols of cyborgs at key points like this one before the attack began. All raised their guns and let loose a careful volley of fire straight in front of the buggy, forcing Kelly to swerve violently and before she knew what was happening they'd slammed straight into the canyon wall. The buggy was well made and reinforced and held together but its occupants were shaken and stunned and that was all the opportunity the cyborgs needed.

"Vehicle immobilised. Initiate capture."

One of the drones wielded what looked like a clunky arc welder but it was, in fact, a modified Tesla weapon and one press of the trigger sent a heavy amount of volts pulsing through the buggy and shocking everyone inside unconscious.

"Targets neutralised." Another drone advanced on the buggy holding what looked like a syringe filled with golden liquid...

**Cold River**

"Targets have been processed, awaiting further orders."

"Excellent Prometheus 1," Epsilon already knew as much from the telemetry data he'd received over his pip boy. "Remain where you are. We'll catch up with you soon and arrange transport for the subjects."

"Complying."

"Well done," Gamma congratulated Epsilon. "With your tactical ability and my troops' combat efficiency this should be no trouble at all."

"Don't get too comfortable yet," Epsilon warned. "We still have to face off against the NCR military."

"True but I'm still looking forward to it!" Gamma said with relish. "I need a real challenge. There's not much glory in rousting these settlements."

"True and I'm looking forward to a little challenge as well," Epsilon replied. "But it's best we're prepared to meet any challenge. Should I send out the probes?"

Gamma nodded. "Yes, do that. We should get some idea of what's ahead."

Suddenly their radio came to life again. "Prometheus 1 to Gamma, we are under attack. Requesting assist..." The call was cut off by the sound of energy weapons fire.

Gamma's smile disappeared. "Gamma to Arachnotron section, get into that canyon and assist immediately! Prometheus group is under attack from unknown hostiles!"

"Complying."

**Canyon SW of Cold River**

The Arachnotron**s **had scuttled down the canyon from their endjust in time to see 2 Vertibirds lift off into the air and bank away out of range to the south east. The only other things that were left in the canyon were an abandoned buggy and the wrecked bodies of the cyborg patrol. The Arachnotrons swiftly activated their visual linking system, recording everything they saw and transmitting it directly to the carrier. Whoever had done this would be identified and appropriately dealt with later.

There was a mood of relief aboard Jaden's Vertibird. Jaden and his friends along with Yuna, Dan and Ashley had landed at the top end of the canyon and had run flat out to the buggy's location just in time to catch the cyborg patrol about to remove Kelly from the buggy. They'd been caught completely cold.

Dan and Yuna targeted the devastators with their laser rifles and both scored head killing shots. Cass and Raul took out three of the drones with thrown dynamite whilst Veronica ran in with her power fist and knocked down the last one with an uppercut allowing Arcade to finish him with his plasma defender. The most difficult part had been hauling the still unconscious Kelly and her group back to the Vertibirds at speed as they knew the cyborgs would send reinforcements. Fortunately Leon was waiting for them at the Vertibirds and had help speed up the escape. Now he was working as his father used to do: being field medic.

"Why didn't you come with us?" Yuna asked him as he examined his three patients in the back of the Vertibird. "We could have used you."

"Believe me I wanted to as well," Leon assured her. "But I can't risk it yet."

"What risk? You've fought cyborgs before," Yuna's brow knotted in confusion.

"Exactly," Leon replied. "I don't really want to advertise my presence here, at least not yet. Delta doesn't know I'm here and that's one of the biggest edges we've got. Both Jaden and me want to keep it that way."

"Speaking of which, what do you think of Jaden?" Yuna asked in curiosity. "Do you think he's up to this?"

"I sure hope so," Leon muttered. "He's tough that's for sure. Anyone who can survive getting shot in the head is. But these metal bastards are just as tough and they've upgraded again big time. The spider models were a nasty surprise and those new guns...where did they get them? So much to do and so little time."

"Makes you wonder how many more surprises they have," Yuna worried.

"Yeah it does. But we shouldn't talk ourselves into depression; we still have a lot going for us and..."

He was interrupted by barking and yapping from Champ, who'd woken up first and found himself in strange surroundings and with his young master still out for the count.

"Hey there little guy," Leon bent over and gently picked up the small dog who was whining at the still unconscious Cody. "Oh don't worry he'll be ok."

"We hope," Yuna said with some concern. "What's this? Some kind of injection mark?"

Leon looked at Cody's neck where Yuna was pointing. "Yeah, looks like it, and given its location it's definitely not self-induced."

His concern mounting by the second Leon checked Bill and Kelly over. Bill was untouched but he found a similar injection trace on Kelly's neck too.

"What do you think?" Yuna asked half knowing the answer.

"Trouble is what I think. This could well be another one of the cyborgs' new surprises. We don't have the equipment to do a full blood and internal scan here but we'll need one when we get them back home. Whatever they did to them back there I really doubt it was for their health." Leon reached for the radio. "Jaden? Before you cork out the champagne I think we have a problem..."

**Sky Carrier**

"We have a situation in New Reno, Imperator," Sigma was giving Delta his latest intelligence updates.

"And that is?"

"The Van Graffs. The word is the NCR's arrested Gloria and most of the senior family for illegal chemical weapon manufacture and they're now in custody there..."

"...And you're worried they may reveal information in plea bargaining to try and buy themselves out, correct?" Delta finished for him.

"Yes. They don't have anything too damaging on us but they do have Omicron's cover identity along with his Hub location and connections."

Delta could see where he was going. "Well that's one avenue of information we'll have to cut off ourselves. We can't divert any of Gamma's Incisor force, their orders are to bypass New Reno and head south but you have infiltrators in that city I believe?"

"Yes. They can be used for other duties anytime."

"Good. Then talk to the armoury and give them this authorization. Make sure it reaches our agents in New Reno. They should know what to do with it."

Sigma matched Delta's cruel sneer as he read the procurement order. "Consider it done. The other news is not so good. We've had a communiqué from the field at Cold River settlement from Gamma's task force."

"Don't tell me he's behind schedule?"

"No it's not that. The footage will explain itself," Sigma brought up the Arachnotrons' recordings on screen.

"You're positive those were New Vegas Vertibirds?" Delta didn't like the latest turn of events as he watched the Courier's getaway.

"The markings say as much," Omicron wasn't happy either as this meant his work hadn't had as much effect as he'd hoped. The Courier hadn't been entirely fooled and this meant he was still intent on getting involved. "What do we do?"

"For the moment nothing," Delta answered. "At least not against the Courier. We are committed to our operation against the NCR and that is the main priority. Besides what can the Courier do anyway? The bulk of his forces are still confined to New Vegas and his actions can hardly be described as a serious attack."

"True, maybe he had friends or relations in that settlement and that was a rescue operation," Iota reasoned. "Nonetheless we may have to do something about him now that he knows of our existence."

Delta disagreed. "Epsilon says he may have that in hand too."

"How? We've no field agents in New Vegas at the moment," Omicron worried.

"Not now. But he says if his Prometheus program works..." Delta smiled nastily. "Well let's just say Jaden Storm will be in for a shock or two!"

Iota spoke up. "All well in itself but what if he's alerted the NCR? We can't rule anything out."

"Good point. We can afford a schedule speed-up. Inform the air legion that the first attack waves go in tomorrow. Contact Gamma and tell him to keep advancing; let him know air support will be available from tomorrow should he need it."

**Cold River**

"Why the hell did you spare me after slaughtering my whole town?!" The teary eyed Mayor of Cold River screamed. He, along with his 13 year old son John who was trembling in his arms, were the only humans still alive. They were now at the edge of the burning town on their knees and surrounded by the cyborg army.

"You weren't the only survivors," Gamma coldly informed them. "The inhabitants of that house survived and were rescued by New Vegas forces."

The Mayor was in disbelief. "Bill and Kelly? They got away?"

"It's true Dad, Cody was with them too," John managed to say.

"Who might they be? And why are they of interest to the Courier and New Vegas?" Gamma asked.

"I don't know and even if I did why the hell would I tell you murdering freaks?"

"If you do I'll free you and your son from your...desperate future shall we say?" Gamma was smiling as he said this but it certainly didn't reach his eyes.

"Alright, alright..." The Mayor told him what little he knew of Bill Gordon and Kelly. "So can we..."

Gamma raised his plasma gun and reduced the Mayor to a goo pile as John shrieked in horror.

Gamma sneered. "I kept my word, organic. Now you are free of the future. Our glorious cyborg future that is!" He turned to an almost hysterical John. "As for you, you get the honour of being part of it. Epsilon!"

Epsilon ordered two drones to hold the screaming boy as he produced another gold syringe and injected it into his neck.

"Take him away and make sure he stays secure until the process is completed."

"Will this work?" Gamma asked.

"Every test I've run says it will. Only time will tell for certain but I have every confidence," Epsilon sounded certain. "By the way we've received an update from the carrier. The Imperator has ordered a schedule speed up in case the Courier informs the NCR of our location and strength. The second front gets opened tomorrow with the air legion on the coast."

"Then we need to move south again quickly!" Gamma realised. "Why did the Courier come here at all? Were the ones he rescued his agents in the NCR?"

Epsilon didn't seem to agree. "Doubtful. Whatever his reasons we should move on. Our probes have picked up NCR military coming from the south."

"Excellent. It's about time they showed themselves. Well then Epsilon, it's time we started the real invasion. Push our force ahead and delete every single one of them!"

"At once."

Gamma was pleased at the day's events up to now. The only unexpected twist was the Courier...but, if it worked, Epsilon's project would help there. Gamma wished he could see Jaden's face when he realised just what he had taken back with him...


	13. California burning

Ok so I didn't get this out as fast as I'd have liked. Bethesda's games have a habit of keeping me hooked and now I've got into Dawnguard it's hard to get rid of my Skyrim addiction.

eaglescorch: That's how Prometheus started out but it's become a little more than that now. Thanks for the advice btw.

Oddliver: Glad you still like it. Hope the hangover wasn't too serious.

Aky141: Good point, I could make use of that in future battles.

VIPER66: Thank you. I try to bring as many game elements as I can across. Back stories are pretty much a must now with game fics like this; glad to see I'm doing it right for somebody!

Time for a moral dilemma for Jaden and the cyborgs give the NCR a 'knock knock' of sorts!

**Lucky 38-Followers' Clinic floor**

Jaden hadn't liked the tone of Leon's radio message on the way home, especially when he said it concerned the people they'd just rescued and that he wasn't going to discuss it on an open radio channel. Fearing the worst he'd had the still unconscious Kelly and Cody shipped to the Lucky 38 and to the care of Drs Usanagi and Farkas. They quickly found the reason for Leon's concern.

"We need to take a blood test and perhaps quite a lot more, Jaden," Usanagi told him grimly.

"What's wrong with them?" Jaden knew they should have woken up by now.

"I don't know yet but I strongly suspect it has something to with the marks on their necks. They've been injected with something and we'll need a blood test, a microscope and maybe even x-rays to see what it is."

It was then that Leon and Yuna came out of the elevator. "Mind if I join you, doctor? I know my way around a medical lab thanks to my father."

Usanagi was surprised by Leon's offer but had no real reason to refuse help. Jaden pre-empted an extremely worried Ashley.

"What do you think's wrong with them?"

"I have some ideas, none of them good," Leon explained. "I hope I'm wrong but something tells me I'm not, like the fact that they were still alive when you found them despite the cyborgs having them cold?"

"He's right there, Jaden," Boone admitted. "If that patrol had wanted them dead...they'd be dead. We wouldn't have got there in time; they'd have just kept firing and blown the buggy to hell."

Jaden knew what they were saying and didn't like the implications. "Alright then, we'll just have to wait until our docs check them out. I've got to brief Crocker, put out a warning to the NCR capital and then meet with the cabinet anyway. I'll come back as soon as I can."

**Ranger HQ-NCR**

Bile rose in Chief Koenig's throat as he looked at the screen in front of him. Due to the gravity of the situation, Jaden had contacted him directly and transmitted the camera recordings from his Vertibirds along with a warning of the cyborg invasion. Several close up shots of the cyborgs blasting Cold River into extinction hammered the point home; this invasion was verifiable and it was real.

"We really appreciate this footage, Jaden," Koenig switched off the carnage and brought up the live video link to the 38. "It should help kill any doubts."

"Make sure all your top people see it," Jaden warned. "You can't go in and think you can drown them in numbers or anything like that. They have obscenely high power energy weapons and heavy armour. They can chew through anything we've both got; even my Securitrons would have a hard time against the firepower they're packing."

"Can you give us any other insight or help?" Koenig would have taken anything at this point.

"I'm restoring your dam power and I can open the borders again," Jaden replied. "But militarily I can't do much. My Securitrons can't operate out of Vegas territory. That leaves me with just my militia, the Boomers and the Brotherhood. Getting them involved might cause problems of their own but...I promise I'll send help if you need it. This might be too big for even the both of us together."

"You think there's more of them?" Koenig didn't like that thought. "Great. As if things weren't bad enough the government here's panicking. They've heard about the settlements falling but they've not heard any news or from any other survivors. You guys were the only ones to make it out of there. Some of those idiots in the Senate are even trying to blame you for it!"

"Yeah I'm supposed to have burnt four settlements with just 2 Vertibirds with no way to rearm them in midair or trip back to Vegas and no survivors ever getting away to tell about it," Jaden snorted. "Where do you get these senator losers from, Chief?"

"Believe me we often ask ourselves the same question," Koenig muttered in response. "At least I can make them look like the dickheads they are when I show them this."

"One other thing," Jaden warned. "I'm not sure if that group's the only one you've got to worry about. We've been tracking the enemy through the eyebot style coded transmissions they're using. We've picked one up off your western coast. The north army could be just a diversion."

"If that's just a diversion..." Koenig's bones were turning to ice. "Where was this signal picked up?"

"That's just it. It was 100 miles off the coast when we first received the signal. The newest one was only 50 miles off," Jaden said grimly. "Whatever's out there is on the move...right for you."

_Jesus Christ! _Koenig knew this could be goodbye NCR forever. The military had barely got back on its feet after the New Vegas fiasco; it was exhausted, low on morale and still lacking a new general given the government was still locked in debate. The cyborgs had chosen the perfect time to strike.

"I need to contact Hsu and Moore and let them know fast," Koenig realised. "They took most of their units and marched north."

"What sort of armament do they have?" Jaden asked with mounting concern.

"Mostly service rifles, marksman carbines and some grenades and missile launchers. From the look on your face I'm guessing that's not enough."

"Nowhere near enough according to my new intelligence," Jaden wasn't going to reveal the fact that Leon was in his camp, not on an open channel anyway. "I'm told unless they're fired from anti-materiel rifles bullets are absolutely useless. You'd best tell them to stay out of the firing line and evacuate as many people as they can until you get your Rangers there with heavier weapons."

"Those two aren't going to do that just because I tell them!" Koenig winced. "You know what Colonel Moore's like..."

"I also know what she'll be if she charges in headlong!" Jaden countered. "She hasn't seen what these things can do; I have and now so have you. You'll just have to be persuasive. If they cripple your army on the first round then you're certainly fucked...and maybe the whole region along with you."

"Alright I'll do what I can," Koenig promised. "It'd be a lot better if both of us could do this. Can't you come here and...?"

"No chance!" Jaden shot that down. "I've sent all the evidence I've got and I don't have time for the political bullshit that Kimball and his friends will try and stir up if I come to you now. Anyway I've got my hands full here with the survivors of the Cold River attack."

"How are they?" Koenig knew Colonel Moore would want to know about Ashley's family given their close ties.

"Not good, I'm having the Followers check them out. They may have had some biological weapon used on them."

"Shit...ok I'll do the best I can. Thanks Jaden and good luck."

"To us all," Jaden said grimly as he disconnected.

"I'll contact as many of the Senate as I can," Hanlon had been listening in on the whole conversation out of sight. "I'll tell them to get ready for evacuation."

"We may have to evacuate more than that before long," Koenig warned. "In the meantime I'd best warn the Colonels how much shit we're actually in!"

**Sky Carrier**

"Are the sky fighters ready to go yet?" Delta was anxious to get the second wave of his invasion underway.

"They're ready to deploy anytime," Sigma promised.

"Are you sure they'll do as well as we think?" Iota asked.

"Why shouldn't they?" Sigma was confident and assured. "They have twice the firepower and far more armour than the NCR Vertibirds and whatever planes they've got. They can outfly and outshoot anything else in the sky."

"I certainly hope so," Delta said. "Bringing the carrier directly onto the coast carries a lot of risk if it doesn't have additional protection."

"I can assure you, Imperator, the carrier will be safe," Sigma was certain of that. "These fighters will _not _fail."

"Very well, we'll proceed as planned. But just to be on the safe side...alert the gun crews."

"We're going to use THAT already as well as the fighters?" Rho's eyes lit up with relish.

"Why not?" Delta smirked. "I believe it was called 'shock and awe' in the past. We'll hammer the organics so hard and so brutally in the end they'll come to us begging for mercy!"

**Lucky 38**

Jaden got back down to the Followers' clinic to be met with some very bad news. He'd guessed as much from what he was hearing as he came out of the elevator.

"...impossible! I've never seen anything as sophisticated as this!" Julie Farkas's voice sounded at a complete loss.

"I can't believe it either," Arcade replied. "But denial isn't going to help!"

"Denial of what?" Jaden asked as he walked in.

"Our rescued patients are in big trouble, Jaden," Usanagi had never sounded more grim. "We scanned them for toxins and viruses and they came out clean. But when we widened the spectrum of our scans..."

"Have a look for yourself," Leon pointed to a microscope where Kelly and Cody's blood samples were laid out.

Jaden looked down the scope and felt his own blood turn to ice as he saw what was inside their bloodstreams. They looked like a cross between a bug and a computer chip.

"What the hell are they?"

"Nanites," Leon explained. "Microscopic robots. Originally they were intended for industrial use, like breaking down scrap metal, other waste and stuff like that. Then came the idea to try and weaponize them; you know, put them into launcher weapons and then disintegrate anything you fire them at but the research didn't get too far before the bombs fell."

Ashley almost cried out in horror. "You mean they're going to be eaten from the inside out?!"

Leon shook his head. "Alas no. As I said that was their original use but these are a lot more complicated. These are programmed to change whatever subject they get into."

"Change them how?" Jaden asked with a sinking heart thinking he already knew the answer. He was right.

"How do you think?" Leon snorted. "Their whole genetic code is being rewritten! Look at the x-rays we took of their spinal columns."

It wasn't hard to see what he was talking about. Over half of their spines had been changed from bone to solid metal.

"It just doesn't seem possible!" Veronica pretty much summed up what they were all feeling.

"I can't get my head round it," Leon admitted. "I've never seen robots and programs this sophisticated. In any event, the cause and the science isn't important, all that matters is the result; which is not good."

Before anyone could say anything else Leon went over to Cody's bedside and stared wistfully down at the still sleeping boy.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry." Leon drew his silenced 10mm and raised it to Cody's head.

"NO!" Jaden lurched forward and knocked the surprised Leon's aim off and the bullet slammed harmlessly into the wall.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Ashley ran over to Kelly's bed and firmly stood between her and Leon.

"Solving a problem and putting them out of their misery all at once," Leon replied coldly. "You'd prefer doing it when they're fully transformed?"

"You can't be serious!" Cass blurted. "We can't just murder them like that; we know what's wrong now so we have to find a cure and..."

"What cure?" Leon snorted. "The one that's in your back pocket perhaps? We've never seen nanotechnology as advanced as this. We're never going to get the time to develop a cure before those nanites run their course."

"Well just let them then!" Ashley was in desperation by now. "We can find a way of reversing it, as long as it doesn't kill them..."

"You don't get it yet do you?" Leon's voice was colder than ice. "The people you knew won't just die, they'll turn! Unless we stop it we'll have 2 full blown cyborgs stomping around in here. I don't know about you but I'd rather avoid that!"

"But...if we contain them we can still try and cure them!" Arcade spluttered. "It's worth a try isn't it?"

"You have to believe me there is no cure for cyber conversion," Leon was adamant. "Believe it; those who get upgraded fully stay that way! These two will _not _be the exception!"

"Ok, ok, let's just think this out calmly for a second," Jaden attempted to defuse the tension. "Julie, is what he's saying likely? I mean what are these nanites doing right now? Is there any way to stop them and how long will the process take if there isn't?"

Julie Farkas and Usanagi exchanged grim looks before Julie spoke up.

"First question: I'm afraid the answer's yes. What the nanites are doing is moving through their systems slowly and altering them. It's already turning their spines to metal and, from what we can tell; it's boosting their immune systems right now. They'll be immune to most poisons and toxins altogether if it keeps going. As to stopping them...I'm sorry Jaden but I just don't see it. This isn't a bacteria or virus so vaccines and treatments won't work. It's a very complex nanomachine."

"One that won't be reprogrammed easily, I'm guessing," Arcade sounded downbeat.

"You guess correctly," Usanagi sighed. "It's the most sophisticated thing I've ever seen and I don't think we have the ability to reprogram it, not with the equipment we have here. As for time well that's about the only bright spark in this. Because this process is so sophisticated it takes longer than most viruses to take effect..."

"How long have they got?" Boone had the courage to ask first.

"We can't be precise but an educated guess? 36 hours. 2 days at the outside," Usanagi sounded like she was giving last rites.

"So in a day and a half, they'll be just like those things back there?" Raul broke the grim silence.

Leon nodded. "They'll be standard drones or reprogrammed primary commander class. Either way they'll cease to exist as they are and they'll be metal killers bent on killing or upgrading anything in their way...and the first things in their way will be us and then the nation of New Vegas. They won't be reasoned with or bargained with. Remorse and pity are beyond them, along with compassion and most other emotions besides hate. So what's it going to be Jaden?"

Leon's voice had risen to a challenge and Jaden didn't miss it. He was in one hell of a bind. The last thing he wanted to do was kill 2 of the only 3 survivors they'd managed to pick up but what was the alternative? Not much as far as he could tell. Leon had been dead right about the cyborgs so far; ruthless did not even come close to describing them. Death seemed a preferable option to becoming something like that. But then another idea came to him.

"We may not have a cure but I know somewhere that might come up with one! We'll have to move them again but we can have them safe there and away from New Vegas in hours, that should take care of the security issue."

"Not for wherever you've got in mind," Leon shot back. "How are you even sure this is going to work?"

"I'm not," Jaden admitted. "But it is the best chance we've got at helping them. If this can't do it nothing will, but we've got to at least try."

"And what if it fails?" Leon still wasn't convinced or moving an inch. As he saw it, with his past experience with Alpha and Baltimore Haven, the region couldn't afford this bleeding heart thinking.

"If it does we've still got your option," Jaden tried to reassure him. "I'll do it myself if it comes to that."  
"You don't seem too certain of that," Leon was proving almost immovable. "The risk to everyone here and the rest of your country..."

"...Is worth it if we can save them!" Jaden shot back fiercely. "I know you hate the cyborgs for what they did to you and your friends back home but don't take it out on innocent people! Not when we still have a chance of helping them. The place we're going has the best technology the old world had to offer; if a cure can be found anywhere it's there trust me. I've trusted you since you got here, Leon. Time to return the favour."

Leon wasn't so sure of himself after Jaden's tirade. _This courier reminds me of me a few years back, before the Jefferson Memorial that is. He's got a lot of heart...but the problem is sometimes that's not enough, especially against cyborgs who don't have any at all._

"All right, we'll play it your way...for now." Leon backed away and headed for the elevator.

"That guy really gives me the chills sometimes even if he is Brotherhood," Veronica found her voice again.

"He's just being real careful," Dan defended. "And he's right to be. These things give the word insidious a whole new sub-text. They excel at hitting you in ways you never see coming like that poor kid there."

Yuna nodded as she burned with anger. "They destroy his home, they kill all his friends and everyone else he ever knew, they orphan him and then just when you think it can't get any worse they try and turn him into a spy or a weapon. I thought they'd run out of ways to make me throw up!"

"Well, we'd better get started." Jaden went over to Cody and gently lifted him over his shoulder. "Since he's younger I'll take him first. The nanites will be working on him faster. You guys get Ashley's sister back on the Vertibird and move her to the drive-in theatre south of Nipton."

"Er, what?" Cass stared at Jaden as though he'd gone mad.

Jaden just grinned. "Follow me down to the lobby and I'll show you what I mean!"

Jaden headed for the elevator. He could only hope the brains in the Think Tank were in a creative mood.

**NCR-Shady Sands/New Reno border**

Colonels Hsu and Moore were beset with worry and confusion. They had intended to meet up with their units at the Broken Snake settlement and then march north to meet whatever invaders they encountered. Halfway through their Vertibird flight however the settlement went off the air completely, it just stopped responding to their radio calls with no warning at all.

Reacting quickly they'd ordered their units not to head to the settlement and set up base camp on the state border. They'd met up with Major Polatli and his communications officer, Monica Reyes, in the command tent.

"How is it Major?" Hsu asked first.

"A lot of confusion and bad news. The bad news is we haven't got as many men as we'd have liked..."

"That much was obvious!" Moore snorted. "We've got just over 1500 at best! Where the hell is the bulk of the army?!"

"Getting transferred south and west," Polatli grunted in annoyance. "Chief Koenig says there's something off the coast near Maxson. He wanted to send out a few scout Vertibirds and check it out but the President and Colonel Rivers overreacted a little shall we say?"

"Oh great!" Hsu snapped. Colonel Rivers wasn't someone either of them liked. To them he was an opportunistic bastard who liked sucking up to politicians when he thought no one was looking; essentially he was another potential General Oliver. Hsu and Moore both knew he had eyes on the general's job and had no doubt he'd played on the President's fears to get himself in command down in the south.

"So, thanks to that idiot, we've only got a skeleton crew to stop what could be a full scale invasion and not much in the way of reinforcements, is that it?" Moore was fuming.

"I'm afraid so. Rivers said this front was probably just a bunch of Raiders and wasn't worth committing major forces to. The President went with that."

"I'll break his neck next time I see him!" Moore growled.

"That's assuming we do see him again," Polatli said grimly. "I'm dead sure that Rivers is flat out wrong."

"Have you sent out scouts to verify that?" Hsu asked.

"Of course we have," Polatli said. "But none have returned! One was literally cut off in the middle of sending a report. That's not the only thing." He walked over to the map table. "It's the speed of the attackers that worries me. We think they breached the border north east of New Reno about 3 days and then that meant they were here. If Broken Snake has gone down they're now here!"

Both colonels were stunned as they saw what he meant. The north hadn't been a serious area from a defence point of view up to now. It didn't have many vital facilities and Shady Sands was a good distance away from the north border. These attackers had covered over half of the distance to the capital in less than 3 days.

"How the hell are they moving so fast?" Hsu had never seen anything like it. "They'd have to stop and rest at some point. Not to mention the settlements, taking them out should wear down any attacking force, especially Broken Snake. How are they falling so quickly?"

The point wasn't lost on the others. Broken Snake was a relatively new and tough settlement. It had been so named because it was built on territory formerly controlled by the once feared Viper gang. It had produced some skilled fighters and bounty hunters over the years for the NCR but it seemed it had fared no better than Cold River or any of the others against the invaders.

"What? Say again?"

All of them turned to Reyes as she received combat reports. Her face quickly turned ashen but she recovered quickly.

"Lead units report they're under attack by energy weapons...they're taking heavy casualties!" Reyes' expression turned to disbelief. "Hostiles aren't only heavy armoured they're...cyborgs?!"

"Cyborgs?" Hsu couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Major Carter says he's falling back, Colonel," Reyes reported. "He can't match the enemy's firepower."

A cold despairing feeling spread throughout the tent. It appeared this war wasn't going to be short or bloodless either...

**Sky Carrier-just off the Maxson coast**

"Gamma reports encountering an NCR unit," Sigma informed Delta as he rejoined the others on the bridge.

"Any casualties?"

"Not many on our side!" Sigma said with relish. "Strange that we haven't seen action yet, we should have got the NCR's attention by now..."

One of the bridge operators spoke up and cut him off. "Imperator, we are receiving a transmission. NCR frequency."

"Put it on!" Delta was somewhat looking forward to this.

"Unidentified vessel, you are entering NCR sovereign territory! Halt and identify yourself or you will be considered hostile!"

"Should we respond?" Sigma asked.

"Let them hear nothing but static," Delta grunted. "Let's see how well they react when unnerved and in the dark. Keep moving us in."

**NCR outpost-Maxson coast**

"Whoever they are they're still coming straight in!"

Colonel Simon Rivers cursed mentally when he heard the radar station's report. That meant he'd have to risk sending some Vertibirds in for a closer look. The mysterious vessel was now only a few miles off the coast and it wouldn't be safe for it to get any nearer. Still he had plenty of them and he'd no doubt of the result should it come to a fight. General Oliver had always taught him that numbers won the day. Whoever these morons were he'd show them what happened to those foolish enough to try a sneak attack on the NCR.

"We've no choice now. Scramble 8 Vertibirds for a closer inspection but if they won't alter their course we shoot them down! Warn them now."

**Sky Carrier**

"Sensors are detecting 8 craft on approach, Imperator."

"So they finally take us seriously," Delta sneered. "Respond in kind. Launch our fighters!"

"Complying."

Down on the flight deck 8 sleek black modified Zeta craft powered up and soared out of the carrier. As Sigma had promised they were fast, graceful and agile. 2 cyborgs crewed each one, one to man its onboard sensors and the other to fly and fight.

"Death gun crews to stations!"

Sigma punched a red button on his command chair and a loud klaxon sounded through the front end of the ship, prompting a large contingent of cyborgs to the firing stations of the carrier's main weapon: a salvaged Zeta mothership cannon.

"Targeting system aligned. Cooling units online and working full speed."

Sigma smirked. "Excellent. Lock on to surface targets and prepare to fire."

Delta issued a quick order over the radio. "Carrier to all ships; destroy NCR aircraft as they come into range then protect the carrier at all costs!"

**Lead Vertibird**

"Of all the fucking days to be cloudy! Is the target still dead ahead?" the pilot muttered.

"So radar keeps telling me," the navigator replied. "What the...? There's something else on the scope. Eight smaller contacts heading straight for us!"

The pilot switched on his radio. "Ok boys and girls, get into formation. We've got...holy shit what are those?"

The pilot never got an answer; at least not a verbal one. What he did get were several blue energy bolts that blew him and his Vertibird into oblivion...

**NCR outpost-Maxson coast**

Colonel Rivers' confidence had disintegrated. The blue flashes in the sky above the clouds were clue enough but the screams and hysteria he was hearing over the radio.

"They're too fast! I can't get him off my tail!"

"Oh god, I'm hit! The wing's gone...AAAAAAAARGHHH!"

Rivers couldn't listen to anymore and contacted the radar station again. "What the fuck is going on up there?"

"We're losing them, that's what's going on! They're engaged with some unidentified aircraft and they're dropping like flies!"

"How is that possible? The Vertibird is the most advanced aircraft still flying, how can it be outmatched?!"

"Probably because, like you organics, it is now obsolete!"

"Who's this?" Rivers snarled at the cold voice that had broken not only his radio security but obviously his air force as well.

"The force that has just declared war on your pitiful old world republic. The force that will sweep it away along with the organic bilge that infests it!" Delta's cold and calculating words of hatred chilled even Rivers' tough spine.

"Who or what the hell are you?" He finally managed to blurt out.

"My name is Delta, Imperator of the cyborg race. My intent is simple; to sweep away the last old world remnants and start a new order. And if you have any doubts as to my sincerity..."

**Sky Carrier**

Delta nodded at Sigma who knew what to do.

"Gun control, sweep this entire section of coast and clear it for landing. Commence firing!"

"Complying...fire!"

The operator pulled on the two firing levers and unleashed a massive gold pillar of energy out of the front of the carrier. It slammed into the outpost disintegrating a third of it and over 200 men, including Colonel Rivers, before they even knew what hit them. A second beam was fired just a minute after that...and another...and another. Soon the whole coastline was reduced to flaming, burned out buildings and piles of ash. The men of steel had announced their arrival on the shores of the NCR and their appetite for vengeance was nowhere near sated yet...


	14. Think tank madness and NCR despair

A shorter part this time alas. Like eaglescorch I've got game addiction problems, while he's fighting the Covenant I'm spending a lot of time splattering J'avo across a wall and it doesn't do much for my writing muse.

eaglescorch: Yes, well worked out. Those are going to play a big part. But to take a quote from House, the cyborgs haven't shown their full hand yet just a couple of cards, let's just say they've taken a few lessons from your S1 in power levels...

Oddliver: It looks bad all right and there's still more to come. That's why I've deployed the Wanderer and the Courier, this needs the friends and assets of both.

Aky141 and sgtranglin: Good I'm still going right for some. Feel free to let me know if I'm going wrong...

**Nipton drive in**

Nearly everyone was at a loss as to what they were doing down in the far south of New Vegas at a dilapidated drive in after seeing Jaden literally vanish out of the Lucky 38's lobby, Ashley most of all.

"Ok so Jaden tells us to meet him down here in the middle of nowhere after doing a vanishing act back in Vegas, my only question is what the hell for?!" Cass asked aloud.

"You're telling me," Ashley muttered. Of all of them she was feeling the worst of all. On arriving back at the Lucky 38 she'd been confronted with the news that not only was her home gone but her younger sister was infected by cyber nanites with very little prospect of a cure. On top of that she was now in the baking desert heat waiting for god only knew what. Fortunately her dad was resting back in the 38 and hadn't heard anything of this yet, which was a good thing since she didn't know how he'd take it.

"I don't know," Veronica admitted as she tended to the still sleeping Kelly laid out on a stretcher. "But he's never led us wrong up to now."

"I'm more interested in what he's planning and what he's going to tell us," Leon said. "From the way you describe it, it sounds like he used a teleport device."

"Teleport? Are you serious?" Arcade looked at Leon as though he'd gone mad.

"No. I've used them before. Love to know where Jaden got his though."

"Good question!"

Jaden's voice jerked them back to reality. They all turned to see him standing by the wrecked satellite.

"Where did you come from? Where's Cody?" Ashley blurted out.

""I'll show you," Jaden replied calmly. "Everyone over here by the satellite. Unfortunately I can only transport one with me at a time so who wants to go first?"

"I will," Ashley said without hesitation. She was desperate to find out just what Jaden had that could cure her sister.

"All right, hang on to me," Jaden produced the transportalponder gun. "See you in a minute!"

Before anyone could anyone could ask a question Jaden teleported away with Ashley stunning everyone again, well except Leon that is.

"Just as I thought: a teleport system. I'm guessing that wrecked satellite is one of the fixed stabilising anchors."

"Since when did you know about this stuff?" Yuna wondered.

"Another one of my past battles," Leon partly explained. "When we've got some more time I'll tell you about it."

**Sky Carrier**

"Perfect! Just the start I was hoping for," Delta gloated as he watched the destruction below. "Any further communications?"

"None, except for the panicking remnants of the army unit that's retreating to the east."

Delta nodded. "Excellent. Make sure the area is completely clear for our landings. I want the ground troops down within the hour."

"Understood Imperator," Sigma agreed as he relayed the order to the gun station. "Maintain continuous firing!"

"Complying...fire!"

Once again the operator pulled the levers and fired another gold blast into the coastline as Delta watched with pure satisfaction. The overture to his symphony had begun.

**Big Empty-Sink Balcony**

"Welcome to Big Mountain or the Big Empty if you prefer," Jaden grinned as he teleported in with Leon.

_So this is where the nightmare began,_ Leon thought to himself as he looked over the place where Henry Vaughan had started his career so long ago.

"Amazing! I'd only heard rumours about this place!" Veronica looked like a kid in a candy store.

"What _is _this place?" Cass and everyone else were stunned as they took in the sights from the Think Tank balcony.

"Pre-war weapons research lab," Leon said. "I've heard of it in passing. Not in a good way either but I see what Jaden's thinking. If there's any good tech around this place would have it."

"Speaking of which it does have it!" Jaden was feeling happier than he had in awhile. "Cody's asleep inside of here. We'd better get your sister inside before we think about what to do next. Oh and try to keep an open mind, there's some...weird stuff in here."

He and Veronica lifted Kelly thorough into the Sink that served as his control room/apartment. Jaden hoped the appliances would stay quiet until he got Ashley's sister into a safe place. He didn't want to have to give explanations about those yet. His luck held there as they all stayed quiet. It ran out when he reached the dome and the first thing to greet them was Dr Klein.

"WHAT ARE ALL THESE DISGUSTING FLESHBAGS DOING HERE?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE ONLY BRINGING IN ONE SPECIMEN? LOOK AT ALL THEIR PENIS TIPPED LIMBS!"

"Oh god, not this again," Jaden groaned as everyone else gaped in shock at the sight of Klein.

"A floating brain with TV screens for eyes and ears," Leon finally said. "And I thought I'd seen everything!"

"What the fuck is that and what did it mean by specimen?!" Cass demanded.

"This is Dr Klein, one of the original researchers at Big Mountain," Jaden explained. "As I already said Dr, these aren't specimens they're friends, two of which need urgent help. Is that second unit ready to go?"

"It's almost online," Dr Borous floated over. "Dr Dala's seeing to the power systems. The other one is already stable."

Two metal cylinders, both at ten o clock angles, were propped up against the left wall near the giant viewing screen. Cody was lying inert inside the right one whilst Dala was operating on the controls of the other.

Leon recognised them instantly as Zeta freezing units. "Cryo suspension tubes, Jaden? Where did those come from?"

"I'd love to know myself," Jaden admitted. "I haven't asked them yet. This is what they suggested when I brought Cody here."

"Cryo...you mean we're going to _freeze _Kelly?!" Ashley was aghast.

"Just think of it as suspending her," Leon knew he had to choose his words carefully. "These things slow down the subject's metabolism to almost nothing while still keeping them alive. It's like being in a video and someone hitting the pause button. It won't cure them but by putting them in there..."

"...it'll slow the nanites down too," Arcade caught on.

"Exactly, and hopefully buy us the time to come up with a full cure. Jaden's right, this just might work."

"Providing we're ok with leaving them with...whatever these guys are," Yuna looked around uncomfortably at the Think Tank doctors.

"I'll make sure of that," Jaden promised as they lifted Kelly over to the second pod. "Is it ready to go, Dr Dala?"

"You can put your subject inside. All systems ready my little teddy bear."

Jaden reddened in embarrassment as everyone heard that and stared hard at him.

"'My little teddy bear'?" Veronica couldn't help smirking at Jaden's discomfort.

"Should we even bother asking?" Even Boone couldn't help but smile a little at this.

"I'd rather you didn't," Jaden sighed. "At least not yet."

They finished putting Kelly inside the second cryo cylinder and then activating it. A few minutes of breath holding later there was good news.

"Life readouts are all green. Both subjects are in suspended animation and stable," Dala reported.

Jaden was relieved. "Right. Keep them that way! They're my friends not things for you to experiment with. No taking them out of that pod for your breathing fantasies, no unnecessary experiments and no lobotomising! Got it?"

"Understood," Dala replied with a hint of disappointment that no one missed.

Jaden lead the team back to the Sink and got ready to give them the whole story of his time at the Big Empty...and that was when the appliances in the Sink started to speak up in mad chorus.

Dan found his voice first. "First hovering brains and now we've got a talking Auto-Doc, waste chute and...is that a jukebox?!"

"Am I going insane or is everyone?" Yuna had to ask after hearing the two light switches engaging in another verbal catfight.

"You're not crazy," Jaden sighed as he dodged aside to avoid Muggy as he rolled through with a coffee mug in each hand. "All the appliances here have personality sub-routines. Dr Mobius, one of the brains, came up with them."

"I get the feeling this is going to be a long story," Leon said.

"Yeah. Central Intelligence Unit, can you arrange for some chairs to be brought up for our guests? I think we're going to need them."

"Of course sir."

**NCR-Shady Sands/New Reno border**

"It's no good, Colonel. We can't hold them! Half our weapons don't have any effect on them!"

Major Carter's grim report wasn't exaggerated. Their missile launchers were bringing down a cyborg here and there but most of the NCR forces' weapons were completely useless against the metal horde advancing on them. Bullets just didn't cut it against heavy armour.

"Withdraw immediately, Major," Hsu ordered. "Get back to camp as fast as you can!"

"Understood!"

Moore cursed foully under her breath. Even the Brotherhood war had never been this bad. They'd taken a hell of a lot of losses then, sure, but they'd made up for it by forcing the Brotherhood to retreat and giving as good as they got. This time that wasn't happening. They were taking heavy losses _and_ getting rolled back.

"Prepare to evacuate, get the essentials only, and leave the camp behind if we have to!" she barked at Polatli.

"Already underway, Colonel," Polatli's gut had told him it would go like this. Unfortunately it hadn't been disappointed. "Where are we going to go?"

"South-east. We've got to evacuate all the settlements we can and get them out of the line of fire and then get heavier weaponry up here. We'll keep fighting all the way back to the Capital if needed!" Moore was desperate to keep up their flagging spirits.

It wasn't to work as Reyes switched frequencies to report back...and ended up getting even more bad news. Both Colonels saw her as she mouthed a horrified 'no'.

"What is it?" Hsu feared the worst and he was right to.

"The south coast's under attack!" Reyes was finding it hard to keep herself together. "Some kind of massive airship's blasting every settlement and base we've got down there!"

"What about Colonel Rivers and his forces?" Even Moore was starting to sound grim.

"He's dead along with over half his force! Scouts report another cyborg force is deploying. It's even larger than this one!"

"Oh hell..." Hsu grimaced as he realised that Rivers had been partly right; the force they were facing was a feint. Worse still it meant the NCR defenders were caught on two fronts.

"We've got to get out of here now!" Moore ordered. That was further reinforced by the sound of a rocket explosion outside. None of them were prepared for the scene outside. The tide of fleeing panicking troopers was telling enough but the scene on the hilltop above the camp was enough to make anyone's stomach turn.

An injured female trooper had been trying to crawl back to the camp when an Arachnotron had overtaken her, well not exactly overtaken her but stood on her, impaling her on one of his legs before finishing her with a shot through the head.

Hsu wasn't about to stick around to see any more. "Retreat! Don't look back just run!"

Up on the hilltop Gamma sneered cruelly as he saw the camp fall before him. Losing 20% of your force in as many minutes had broken the organics' spirit. He'd racked up ten kills himself, mostly by gun but some by hand, organics were so fragile and he loved breaking them above all. His smile waned a little when he saw Epsilon studying his pip boy with a concerned look on his face.

"Anything wrong?"

"No, nothing of importance," Epsilon lied smoothly. In reality his plans had suffered a setback if the readings on his pip-boy were accurate. The nanites he'd implanted in Kelly and Cody also had another hidden function: they sent out a low frequency signal which orbiting satellites could track and keep tabs on. Only now the location had shifted and the signal strength had gone very weak. Epsilon recognised the location of his father's old lab instantly. This could only mean the Courier had caught on to their plan and had either imprisoned his two subjects there or had killed them. He'd know which way soon enough if the signals stopped.

All this was potentially very bad news for the cyborg cause. Firstly the Courier certainly had access to the Big Empty and all its technology and secondly it didn't look like they were outthinking the Courier at all. He'd seen through Omicron's initial deception and now this. Epsilon was betting that New Vegas might not stay out of the war as Delta had hoped. _A fact that actually might work for me!_

Still plotting silently to himself, Epsilon switched off his pip-boy and went to rejoin the offensive.

**Big Empty-The Sink**

The full story of Jaden's adventure at the Big Empty had finally been told to a stunned but finally accepting group of friends.

"Unbelievable," Arcade finally said as Jaden finished.

"On the contrary, given what we know about the pre-war government and Vault-Tec, I find it very believable," Leon retorted. "Ironic that it was one of their own that grew a conscience and tried to hold them back."

Jaden nodded. "Yeah, didn't entirely work though. Even with Mobius cutting them off from the world they still managed to set up that satellite as a trap...and I stupidly fell into it." Being kidnapped by teleport beam, hypnotised and then lobotomised hadn't been one of Jaden's fondest memories.

"I wondered where your cybernetics came from," Leon mused. "Never thought getting shot in the head could have fringe benefits."

"So you cut a deal with those...things back there?" Ashley asked feeling more than a little uncomfortable with the idea.

"Yeah I know it doesn't seem right with what they did," Jaden admitted. "But they can make up for it if we let them. They're a lot like kids in a way; if I keep them distracted and occupied they won't hurt anyone else. Their intellects can be a big help in restoring this lab to full operation and that can only be a help in the long run."

"A question we need to leave for later," Dan pressed. "Right now we need to be asking how many weapons does this lab have?"

"Quite a few," Jaden revealed. "Mostly Mobius's Robo-Scorpions, they pack a punch in combat and there's a lot of them. They've been cleaning up the rest of the Big Empty while I've been gone, taking down the rest of the crazed lobotomites and the trauma harnesses. The tricky part's going to be transporting them to wherever they have to go. They've got good enough power cores to function anywhere but getting them out of the Empty and onto the battlefield's going to be a problem unless we find some way of doing it."

Leon grinned. "I just might have what we need for that."

"We do?" Yuna asked in confusion.

"Providing I can get in radio contact from here, yes," Leon said confidently. Unless Sally had moved the Zeta mothership out of its parking orbit Leon was sure he could reach her.

"The best place for radio links is back at the 38 now we've got Black Mountain's array linked in," Jaden advised. "We'd best go back there, well as soon as I talk to Mobius and find out how many scorpions he's got. Hope he's with it today and hasn't been hitting the mentats too hard. In the meantime..."

Jaden tossed his transportalponder over to Arcade.

"You want me to go back first?"

"And start taking the others back to the drive-in and then back to Vegas. We can't all be gone from there for too long and the cabinet needs to be kept in the loop, not to mention we need to keep up to date with what's going on in the NCR."

"All right," Arcade agreed.

"I'll go back first then," Cass said. "This place doesn't do much for me."

"I'll stay with you for now," Ashley added. "Say goodbye to Kelly while I've got the chance."

"I'll stay here too," Leon said. "I'd better see these scorpions for myself, see how they do. Then there's those cryo tubes, I'd love to find out exactly _where_ they got those from. "

"You've seen them before?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah I have and I didn't expect to see anything like them again," Leon explained. "Let's just say they're not locally produced."

"So where do they come from?"

"When we get back to the 38 I'll show you," Leon promised. "For now let's just say they're kind of out of this world!"

**Sky Carrier**

By now the bombardment had finished and the cyborgs were using Vertibirds to land their main forces on what was left of the Maxson coast. Omicron and Rho had taken command of this force and were more than eager to start pressing inland for the capital. However Delta had ordered them to attack smaller settlements as they advanced inland.

"What for?" Rho had wondered when she'd heard the order from Omicron as they boarded their Vertibird. "We could be at Shady Sands easily with the firepower we have here. We'd probably get there before Gamma did if we started now."

"The Imperator knows that," Omicron explained. "But he's looking to damage more than just the enemy army itself or their Capital. He wants to crush their morale and any semblance of hope the NCR have. What we're doing is part of that. How do you think the NCR will react when they see their own citizens upgraded and marching alongside us?"

Rho smiled along with Omicron. "Badly I think. You said we were only part of that strategy? What's the other part?"

"The other part is to allow the NCR to regroup its military and allow them to attack," Omicron started to explain.

"What?" Rho stared at Omicron in disbelief. "Allowing the organics time to rest and regroup and then become a possible threat? What's the logic behind that?"

"Very simple logic: you build up the enemy's hope by allowing them that," Omicron said. "Then you smash it to pieces."

"What with? The carrier again, they'll try and prepare for that this time."

"Yes they will. But do you think they'll be prepared for Liberation Prime too?" Omicron's smile would have frozen a lake solid.

"It's ready to go?" Rho's expression turned to one of delight.

"It is, as are units 2 and 3 as well, though we'll only be using the prototype first. That's why the carrier's moving over the shore, it'll be deployed by crane this afternoon and hopefully be ready by tomorrow morning."

"Which will give the NCR more than enough time to get the bulk of its military assembled," Rho realised. "So when they march on us..."

"Yes. We will be more than ready to delete them en masse!"

The laughter from both of them would have brought a chill to even the bravest of souls...


	15. Allied Zeta and Tainted Liberty

Finally breaking my game fix to update again!

eaglescorch: This is the last of the background parts and then the chaos will really begin especially with what's coming in this part...

Oddliver: From what I've read the NCR aren't that advanced alas. There's going to be a few missiles launched but they'll be from the cyborg sky carrier...with a nasty cargo attached.

VIPER66: Glad you like it. The Big Empty was my favourite DLC so I couldn't resist using it.

Cold secrets: I have to admit this is kind of a crazy combo: Zeta with Big Empty. Only thing I could think of that would work in this situation

Ok it's up to the Zeta mothership for the team and the cyborgs deploy another nasty and _familiar _weapon ( I wasn't very subtle with the title there either.)

**Big Empty-Sink Balcony**

"Quite an army," Leon said in approval as he looked down on the Robo-Scorpions. "Tough armour, effective beam weapons and, best of all, robotic and easily replaceable. No human casualties."

"They can't be hacked either," Jaden grinned. "Any attempt at all just causes them to self destruct and the access point's under their armour anyway. The control system works on random and constantly changing frequencies, there's no way on earth to jam it or hack the scorpions that way. Perfect weapons for fighting cyborgs."

It was then Ashley returned to the balcony having said her goodbyes in the Think Tank dome. Before Jaden knew what was happening she flung her arms around him and pulled him into a hug.

"Wha...?"

"You saved my sister," Ashley gushed. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," Jaden warned. "It might be one of my worst decisions. We still don't know if we can cure her or how long she's going to be in that pod..."

"You keep talking like that and you never will cure her," Leon warned. "You've already done more than I expected you to, now's not the time for cold feet or negative thinking."

Both Jaden and Ashley were stunned to hear that from someone who'd nearly executed Kelly and Cody for safety reasons.

"Never thought I'd hear that from you, the world's worst pessimist," Jaden joked.

"The world's worst realist," Leon corrected. "Back in the 38 I didn't know you had this place at your beck and call. Now that I've seen all this I think our chances are improving. They're not great but they're improving."

"How are you so sure our chances aren't that good?" Ashley asked. "I mean they're tough and they've got those new beam weapons but..."

"You just said it yourself, _new _beam weapons," Leon said pointedly. "Except they're not new to me; I've seen them before. I'd never thought I'd see them again either, certainly not in cyborg hands. The fact they have them at all means trouble and it makes me wonder what else they might have in their arsenal. These are not the same cyborgs I fought on the east coast. Speaking of which, I'll go have a word with our brainiac friends if that's alright with you?"

"Feel free," Jaden replied. "Just don't bank on getting too much sense out of them!"

**Sky Carrier**

"Main invasion force is deployed and ready to move." Sigma was in a good mood as he gave his latest report.

"And Liberation Prime?" Delta asked.

"Will be ready on schedule," Sigma continued. "All that's needed is a test of the deployment crane. It hasn't been used for this purpose before but our engineers are confident. Besides, too many enemy scouts are still watching us now. We shouldn't deploy it until the last minute."

"Excellent. We'll keep the organics off balance with one blow after the other. Which reminds me; can't we improve the accuracy on the death gun?"

"Unfortunately not, Imperator," Sigma was contrite. "It was designed for orbital strikes after all. Unless we have flat terrain it will be difficult to get a precise target lock, but given the scale of its firepower..."

Delta understood. All it took was one look down at the devastated NCR coast to see that point.

"Imperator, a communiqué from the field. It's Sub-Commander Epsilon."

"Excellent," Delta had been waiting eagerly for this report. "Put him through."

"Epsilon to carrier, we've reached the Shady Sands border," Epsilon's voice reported through the radio. "Minimal casualties, well to our side anyway."

Delta had expected little else. "Good to hear. What of the Prometheus project?"

Epsilon seemed cagey. "I've had six subjects up to now and I'd say the process is perfect if left untouched..."

"I'm sensing a 'but' here," Delta was nothing if not perceptive.

"I'd say my infiltration gambit failed," Epsilon finally said. "The two subjects that the Courier snatched from under us have...stopped registering on my readout. I'd say they were discovered."

"So he's much cleverer than we thought. Not your fault," Delta replied. "I'll send more eyebots to keep an eye on the New Vegas sector. If he doesn't know the full extent of what's going on here now I'm sure he will soon."

"Anyway, as I said, the process works. The remaining four are fully upgraded, this will revolutionise our ability to convert large numbers of humans at once."

"We'll find out if you're right today," Delta said with a smile. "I'm going to advance the test program and see if it works in gas form."

"What target did you have in mind? Not the Capital I assume," Epsilon knew where this was going.

"Indeed not. I want that crushed. The Hub and Junktown should suffice."

That did take Epsilon by surprise. "Two targets? And so close to the main line of attack?"

"Yes as it will make our victory absolutely certain. If, by some miracle, the NCR does manage to defeat Omicron's army _and _Liberation Prime those towns will provide immediate backup and ensure we don't lose."

"Logical," Epsilon admitted. "And I can assume I'm getting sent to monitor the results?"

"Yes. I'll send Tau to meet with you in a sky fighter in just over an hour and bring you back here. The chemical nanite warheads will be launched once you arrive and then you and she can follow up on the results. Gamma's group will press on and keep the NCR pinned on two fronts."

"Then I'll arrange my affairs here and prepare to return. Now that I think of it can you send out a Vertibird too? I'd better check on my latest subjects in the lab when I return, just to be absolutely certain," Epsilon asked.

"Consider it done. Carrier out."

Delta couldn't see it but Epsilon was smiling coldly. Everything was going as he'd planned so far. Delta was unaware that Kelly and Cody were still alive and Epsilon intended to keep it that way. He'd also neglected to tell him the _exact _effects of the nanites. His agenda hinged on keeping his cards hidden until the time was right. Now he had a few details to deal with before his ride arrived...

**Lucky 38**

A Vertibird trip and an hour or so later everyone was back up in the penthouse and Leon was at Yes Man's main control system. Together with Jaden he'd linked with the Black Mountain array and was sending out a transmission on a new frequency from Leon's pip boy.

"Sally? Are you still up there?" Leon hoped either Sally or Elliott were on the bridge and listening in.

"Leon?" A surprised reply came back through. "Finally, it's been forever! You want me to beam you up again?"

"I'm not in the usual place Sally," Leon replied. "In fact I'm a long way from it. Can you set up another link from where you are?"

"Of course I can, silly!" Sally may have aged and grown a little but her temperament hadn't changed. "I've been up here almost forever. I've learned how everything works. Let me just trace back your radio signal..."

"Good. Put it a few steps behind me," Leon instructed.

A few seconds later a small control panel materialised out of nowhere into the middle of the floor in front of Yes Man's screen.

"What the...? How did that get in here?" It was Jaden's turn to be taken by surprise along with everyone else in the room.

"You're not the only one who can teleport," Leon grinned as he went over to the panel. "Ready?"

"For what?"

"As the saying goes, you showed me yours so it's time to show you mine," Leon promised. "Just hit the red button and follow me."

Before anyone could ask anything else Leon hit the button and teleported away.

Dan and Yuna exchanged a confused look. Dan finally shrugged his shoulders and went over to the panel. "Before anyone asks I don't know. This is a side of Leon I've never seen yet."

Both of them then hit the button and teleported after Leon.

"And here I was thinking we'd had all the weird stuff for one day!" Cass sighed.

"Well he trusted me. I suppose I've got to do the same," Jaden admitted before going over to the panel and activating it himself.

Up on the bridge of the Zeta mothership Leon was going through a quick reunion with Sally and Elliott Tercorien.

"How've you two been?" Leon was asking. "I know I've not been up here enough but..."

"It's ok Leon," Sally was in a forgiving mood. "Just visit more often, don't forget about us."

"As if I could!" Leon would never forget the Zeta abductions and the abominations the aliens had performed up here. "I should warn you though I've brought a few friends along this time..."

Leon hadn't finished speaking before the others started teleporting in onto the bridge. The viewscreen just happened to be switched off so Jaden and the rest still had no idea where they were.

"A few friends, Leon?" Elliott raised his eyebrows. "Looks like more a few to me!"

"And you are?" Boone asked in curiosity. He'd never seen winterized combat armour before.

"Elliott Tercorien, US army field medic."

"It's another long story," Leon cut in before the inevitable avalanche of questions came. "Before I tell it I'd better show you exactly where we are and how this place can help us."

He went over to one of the consoles and switched on the viewscreen, revealing the view down on the still heavily irradiated Earth and the fact they were in orbit.

"Impossible..." Ashley's mouth, along with Jaden's and all his friends as well, was hanging open.

"You're calling this impossible after floating brains?" Leon joked.

"Good point," Jaden conceded. "But a ship in space?"

"Not just any ship," Leon warned. "An _alien _ship and if you doubt me on that..."

He nodded at Sally who tapped a few buttons and brought up the ship's camera recordings; specifically of the events of four years ago. They all saw a much younger, and then still human, Leon blasting aliens and abominations along with Elliott, Sally, a slaver mercenary, a cowboy and a Japanese samurai.

_Small wonder the Big Empty didn't faze Leon_, Jaden realised. Like his friends he was starting to wonder if anything would faze him.

**Shady Sands **

President Aaron Kimball's world seemed to be crashing down about his very ears. The humiliating withdrawal from New Vegas had been bad enough for his administration; he'd hoped that would be over and done with quickly and he could get back to restoring his battered reputation but that wasn't to be. The subsequent Congress elections had rendered him all but a lame duck, nearly all his close friends and allies had bit the dust and left him with a house full of hostile critics.

The Patriot affair soon put an end to all his hopes. His indignant, and somewhat unwise, denial of any NCR involvement soon became more ridiculous by the day as New Vegas tracked the Patriot weapons straight back to NCR manufacturers. The revelation that General Oliver had been behind the Patriots had been all but a killer blow to him. It had given the Courier a cast iron excuse to cut off the link to Hoover Dam and what trade routes the NCR had left through New Vegas. It also destroyed any hope of a peaceful annexation of New Vegas into the NCR.

Kimball chafed with anger as he thought of Jaden Storm. Being humiliated and struck down by a simple courier got on every last one of his nerves. Take away the emotion though and Kimball had to admit a lot of the blame stopped with him alone. He'd been overambitious and under cautious when he and Oliver had come up with the Vegas annexation idea. He'd trusted his old friend at every turn only to have his trust betrayed and shattered.

Despite his initial promises and past victories Oliver had been a disastrous choice of leader; it didn't take a genius to see that. In four long years all he succeeded in doing was stretching the NCR's finances to breaking point, alienating the very army he was supposed to lead and, worst of all, turning terrorist and trying to take by force what he couldn't seize by right. To top all of that he had failed and he'd been discovered thus dealing more damage to the NCR's reputation than anyone in history and had left him carrying the can for it. Kimball couldn't help but feel pleased himself when he'd heard of Oliver's death. As far as he was concerned that bastard had used him and their friendship to gain himself high office. It was a small comfort to know the backstabbing bastard had got what was coming to him.

All of that was academic now though, Kimball knew, because if the current trend continued there wouldn't be any NCR to speak of. He'd seen the Cold River footage that Jaden had sent over and knew the score. Where these cyborgs had come from was a mystery but that was hardly important now. What did matter was that they were here and they were extremely hostile.

"Evacuation preparations are underway, Mr President."Kimball looked up to see Senator Hanlon entering his office.

"At the rate these things are going there won't be anywhere to run to before long!" Kimball muttered.

"Most of our refugees are heading south-east for Junktown and Dayglow," Hanlon explained. "As for the rest...we'll just have to hope the Courier's in a humanitarian mood."

"The Courier?" Kimball was at a loss. "We're thinking of evacuating to _New Vegas_?"

Hanlon just shrugged and went over to the map of the NCR on the wall. "We know the main force is destroying the coast down here so that's out. The Divide is no place to go. We also know what's in this sector."

Kimball cringed as Hanlon pointed to the New Reno/Shady Sands border and he knew the ex Ranger chief was right. They'd been pinned on two fronts, both of which were closing in on Shady Sands rapidly.

"Is there any possibility...," Kimball almost choked as he said the words. "Has someone raised the possibility of surrender?"

Hanlon shook his head coldly. "These cyborgs are not interested in our surrender, Mr President, only in our deaths and absolute destruction. After the coast was burned my own home district, Maxson, sent out a complete unconditional surrender by radio. The cyborgs didn't even respond, well they did but not with a verbal message if you get my drift."

Kimball face palmed as he heard that. "Is there no good news at all?"

"There's plenty of news," Hanlon replied. "But all of it bad. Scouts are reporting the main enemy formation is headed inland. That massive airship is with them and it's still proving untouchable. Their air fighters can outmatch anything we have in the sky. Combined with the ship having a beam weapon that can burn anything on the ground...well you see the problem."

"Yes," Kimball felt sick to his stomach. Not only was his country being burned and destroyed they were going to have to put their trust in Jaden Storm, a man who'd undermined them at Hoover Dam and then pushed them into economic depression afterward. "Alright. Start the evacuation. I only hope Colonel Dunning and Major Dhatri can buy us some time."

"Colonel Dunning?" Hanlon asked in surprise. "He's in charge in the south now?"

"I know," Kimball wasn't happy either as Colonel Richard Dunning was a solid officer but not too experienced leading in actual battle. "That's why I sent the Major in with him. Unfortunately there's no other choice. Rivers was killed on the coast and Hsu and Moore are still fighting on the New Reno border."

_And losing too, _Hanlon thought. "So what's the point of sending the bulk of the army south if we can't touch their airship?"

"According to Dunning's scouts the main bulk of the cyborg army has advanced out ahead of the ship," Kimball explained. "Miles out in front actually. They've stopped advancing to attack several settlements there and Dunning thinks they've made their first mistake in doing that!"

"How?"

"Dunning has nearly 30000 troops down there. We still outnumber them at least 10 to 1 if not more," Kimball said. "Dunning thinks if he can muster the bulk of his forces for one all out strike we can cripple them before that ship catches up. With their ground army gone we'll have more freedom of movement and more time to think of a way to bring that flying monster down. An attack like this should make them think that we're launching a counterattack and that they've underestimated us. At the very least it should make them pull back and rethink their approach."

"A risky move," Hanlon cautioned. "What if the strike fails? If that happens we'll hardly have anything to throw in their path. They'll be able to walk up to the Capital and knock!"

Kimball knew the truth of that as he'd been a soldier himself once. But there was another hard truth too. "Yes I raised that myself. But if things keep going the way they have been this place is soon going to fall anyway. We've got to change tactics quickly. Unless we do that ship will link up with their troops on the ground, they'll start advancing again and we'll have no way to stop them. You said that yourself."

Hanlon had to admit the President had a point but it did not render his moot. If this failed Shady Sands would be left with nothing but a skeleton defence. There was another problem too, why would they advance out of the carrier's protection zone and then stop where they had at all? Crushing settlements created terror and damaged the NCR's morale but why not do it as a unified force? Leaving the ship behind made no sense on the face of it. He had a real bad feeling they were still dancing to the cyborgs' tune...

**Zeta Mothership**

"And I thought I'd been through some crazy stuff!" Jaden was trying hard to keep his legs from coming out from under him as they finished watching Leon and his crazy crew finishing off the second alien warship.

"Alien invasion, alien ships and alien guns with a cowboy and a samurai thrown in," Arcade was doing no better nor were most of the others come to that.

"Speaking of guns..." Boone had picked up on the alien weapons that he'd seen on the screen. "Those were the same guns we saw the cyborgs using at Cold River!"

"Good memory," Leon complimented him. "Now you know why I've been so worried up to now. While you were watching my last battle I've been checking the camera feeds and the teleport records. No one else besides us has come on to this ship so they didn't get the weapons from here. "

"So where did they get them?" Jaden was concerned too. "Did the Think Tank have any ideas?"

"No," Leon growled. "But I think they've been hacked. The loud one tried to access the computer files on the cryo pods only to find they'd been erased! So had several other files, notably from the innovative toxins plant."

Jaden paled considerably as he heard that. He now had no doubt who was ultimately responsible for the gas attack on the Bitter Springs caravan.

"I see that information hit a spot," Leon observed. "Anyway, here's the plan. Assuming Sally and Elliott have got full control of the ship..."

"Of course we have!" Sally butted in. "We've lived up here for all these years you know!"

"Enough to take the ship into the atmosphere?" Leon asked coldly.

"Into the atmosphere? What for?" Elliott asked.

"To get it down to the Big Empty and transport an army of Robo-Scorpions to the front line in the NCR."

"I like it," Veronica grinned.

"So do I," Jaden agreed. "Bu t why can't we do all that from up here?"

"We could but I have a bad feeling we're going to need the ship down there," Leon considered. "If they've got alien guns, who's to say what other weapons they might have acquired?"

"We've never tried to fly onto the planet before," Elliott admitted. "But I think we know enough to say we can do it."

"Sure we can!" Sally agreed. "With a few of our helpers we can do it."

Only Leon caught on to what she meant as she pressed another button on the console. "You didn't?"

"They're real friendly when you get to know them!"

No one had time to ask what she meant before 2 red suited aliens teleported onto the rear of the bridge.

"Easy!" Leon warned as many started to reach for guns. "They're the worker caste on this ship. They're harmless. I'm thinking this is our cue to move out of the way and I've got just the place while Sally moves the ship."

Leon quickly herded them back to the teleporter as the two aliens looked nervously at them before moving over to control consoles.

**SW of Shady Sands- 2 hours later**

Omicron was more than happy with the way things were going so far. His force, in fact, wasn't that big; only 2000 strong but it was extremely strong. Most of the force were devastator class and had no trouble sweeping away the feeble forces of town militias and NCR grunts that they'd encountered so far. What prisoners they'd taken were shipped back to the carrier, jammed into conversion chambers and then emerged as drones. A lot of them were now at the front of his formations. It would be interesting to see if the oh so caring NCR would be able to fire on its own people.

"The eyebots just reported back," Rho was grinning coldly. "They took the bait! The bulk of the NCR army is coming our way."

"How large is their force?" Omicron's face wasn't betraying any emotion.

"I'd say they outnumber us more than ten times over," Rho's smile hadn't changed a whit. "Little do they know of what really awaits them!"

"That reminds me," Omicron reached for his radio. "Omicron to carrier, is Liberation Prime ready to move."  
"It's already on the move," Delta said proudly. "We deployed it successfully a short time ago. I was worried about the strain on the cargo bay crane but it worked. We're monitoring its progress from here, it should be with you in 2 minutes. We're not long behind either. We'll join you along with the sky fighters as soon as Liberation Prime breaks their sprit and hopefully more. The fighters are carrying special cargo so don't engage too closely."

"Have the enemy spotted it yet?"

"Not if their communications are anything to go by," Delta replied. "They're still marching confidently toward their own decimation! It's a pity we're not back on the east coast...Omega's face would have been something to see if he knew what we had!"

"Yes I can imagine," Omicron joined Rho in smirking coldly. "Actually I think I hear it now..."

The fact that the ground had started to tremble under their feet was a good hint that something big was coming but all it took was one look back.

Across the valley about 2 miles away the NCR vanguard was fast approaching and by now they were in a position to observe their cyborg opponents through binoculars which was what Major Dhatri was doing now.

"Those bastards! I _know _some of those things, they've turned some of our own people!"

"You sure?" Colonel Dunning asked.

"Positive. They've put them on the front line too, probably think it'll make us blink."

Dunning snorted. "Not likely. These murdering tin cans aren't getting past us, we'll make sure of that. With our missile launchers and plasma weapons we confiscated from the Van Graffs we've got enough firepower to send them to the fucking moon!"

Dhatri grinned. "I hear you sir! We'd better get ready to...what the fuck is that?!"

Delta had been right; if Leon had been with them he could have told exactly what it was. It was an armoured painted black colossus that towered over the battlefield, solid titanium and steel laminated with Adamantium, armed with particle beams and mini-nukes and, worst of all, coming straight through the middle of the cyborg army and right for them.

"ORGANIC LIFE IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF FAILURE! EMBRACE CYBERNETIC EVOLUTION OR BE ERADICATED!"

Aside from the altered propaganda voice, the cyborgs had copied Liberty Prime perfectly...


	16. NCR twilight and New Vegas Samurai

Demented Maniac: My logos kind of give that away too :), though I do try to give them a little more in the way of emotion (of the cold and cruel variety).

eaglescorch: Leon's not going to reveal himself unless he has to though with what's coming he won't have much choice before long.

Cold secrets: That was the idea. The NCR is boned and it's now dependent on Jaden and Leon's good graces.

Superstar Kid: It was kind of a crazy mix but I think it works. Jaden really needs it to with a dark Liberty Prime against him.

Back on my feet again after a torture session having my wisdom teeth removed. Add writer's block to that and getting this part done has been like pulling teeth... ok enough cheap jokes and back on with the fic. Time for a battle that compares with Ostagar or Wolf 359 and Jaden gets a pep talk from Leon over the Divide...

**Zeta Mothership**

As Sally and Elliott started to guide the ship into Earth's atmosphere Leon moved the party down to the shooting gallery in the weapons lab for training, specifically with energy weapons. A lot of them hadn't taken well to the idea at first.

"I always _hated _these guns!" Cass had wailed. "No real kick, doesn't feel right..."

"You'd prefer to be dead next time you fight the cyborgs? Or do you have a better idea?" Leon had given that short shrift.

Boone and Raul didn't look too happy either but they didn't have anything better to offer.

"No? Well then get started." Leon passed out atomizers and disintegrators and then let them have at it on the range.

Jaden didn't join them as he was already familiar with energy weapons and didn't feel the need for a refresher. He was about to sit down and take a breather but Leon pulled him aside.

"You up for a rematch, Jaden? I don't know about you but I could use the practice."

Jaden grinned. He'd been hoping Leon was going to say that; this gave him a chance to restore his lost pride. "When and where?"

"Next room over...and right now!"

**SW of Shady Sands**

Dunning, Dhatri and their troops were frozen in awe at the sight of Liberation Prime. They quickly snapped out of it as the giant robot started to advance out of the cyborg lines towards them. NCR troopers at the front of the battle group opened up with missile launchers but half missed and the other half just glanced off Liberation Prime's armoured hull.

"It's slow moving at least. Concentrate your fire!" Dunning ordered. "Bring up the Vertibirds too! Between all of us we should be able to bring it down."

Results, however, did not match Dunning's expectations. Just like the Liberty Prime original, Liberation Prime's armour was far thicker than anything previously known and conventional rockets and energy weapons simply couldn't penetrate it. The Vertibirds had no more luck than the Enclave ones in the Capital Wasteland; the eye mounted particle beams tore them out of the air like lame ducks. Once they were gone Prime turned its attention back to the ground and started annihilating whole groups of soldiers with beam shots and thrown mini-nukes. The ones who got too close were simply stepped on.

Omicron and Rho watched the bloodbath with admiration from behind.

"Watching him work is a real pleasure," Rho smirked.

"Indeed," Omicron matched her sneer. For all their talk of learning lessons from New Vegas the NCR had clung to Oliver's numbers strategy like a drowning man to a life preserver and it wasn't working. They weren't outmanned but it was clear they were outgunned and outclassed. "Call the carrier and tell them to send the sky fighters. Time to punish this pitiful republic for its predictable moves!"

Rho nodded as she reached for her radio.

**Sky Carrier**

Delta and Sigma had been moving the carrier toward the battle already when they received Rho's request for help.

"Send out the whole squadron," Delta ordered coldly. "Turn that area into the NCR's biggest graveyard."

"With pleasure, Imperator," Sigma opened communications to the flight decks. "All fighters scramble!"

A horde of sleek black fighters shot out of the launch bay toward the battlefield. Half of them had been modified for this time around. The usual rocket pods had been replaced by bomb racks.

"Tell them to attack the rear of the NCR formation," Delta's sadistic side was showing itself again. "That way they'll be trapped between their bomb runs and Liberation Prime and should ensure maximum deletion. While they're doing that jam their radio transmissions. It'll be hard for them to get out or call for help if they're cut off at the same time."

"Already done, Imperator. The jammers are online. By the way the warheads are ready to launch as is Sub-Commander Epsilon. He's sitting down in the launch bay ready to go."

"Excellent. Lock on targets and fire!"

**SW of Shady Sands**

Major Dhatri was in a world of desolation. It didn't seem to matter how much firepower they slung at Liberation Prime, the giant robot seemed invulnerable to all gun and missile fire. To make matters worse nearly all their Vertibirds were now smoking wrecks on the ground so they were now defenceless against any air assaults.

He'd no sooner had that thought when he spotted the cyborg fighters on approach. Half of them started strafing the front lines with blue energy fire, disintegrating soldiers and knocking craters in the ground. The other slower moving half had banked away and was heading for the battalions at the back.

Dhatri couldn't figure out why they'd bother hitting the back at all...until he saw the bombs tumbling off the fighters' racks. At first he thought they were duds, no explosions could be seen or heard, until he realised they weren't explosive. On impact the bombs split open and released pods spewing orange/red gas...the very same toxin from the Big Empty. The cyborgs were out to cause as much death and panic as possible and they were succeeding. The NCR was getting smashed by Liberation Prime and the sky fighters at the front and the rear ranks were now choking and vomiting on poison gas.

"Holy fuck..." Dhatri snapped out of it and ran over to one of the radiomen. "Get that thing working and alert the other battalion commanders, tell them to retreat to the east, we've got to get out from under this barrage!"

"No can do, Major!" The teary eyed radioman screamed back. "All the wavelengths are jammed! We can't raise anything!"

Bile rose in Dhatri's throat along with despair in his heart. With no communication or coordination his men were reduced to a bunch of headless chickens gradually getting picked off. This wasn't war, it was wholesale slaughter.

Liberation Prime threw another mini-nuke and seemed to gloat over the situation. "MASSIVE ORGANIC CASUALTIES SUSTAINED. PROBABILITY OF ORGANIC VICTORY...ZERO PERCENT!"

**Mothership Zeta**

It didn't take long for Leon and Jaden's 'training session' to turn into a full blown combat. Jaden's katana and Leon's wrist sword had clashed over and over for the last fifty minutes and the exertion was starting to tell. Both had got so hot they'd stripped out of their main armour and were fighting bare chested.

"Giving up yet Jaden?" Leon taunted. He may have been running a little hot but he wasn't a bit tired, thanks to his augments and metal legs he could keep going all day.

"As if!" Jaden's face broke into a shit eating grin. "I know most of your moves now; you won't take me down this time!"

"Give it a rest, amigos! We're getting tired just watching you." Raul's voice brought them both out of their combat focus.

The whole team had finished their gun training and had all been watching the two heroes spar for over half an hour.

"Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?" Leon joked as he retracted his blade.

"Did you have to tell them so soon, Raul?" Cass complained. "We were enjoying the view!"

Cass and Ashley had been 'feeling the heat' so to speak seeing Leon and Jaden's well developed physiques, though Leon's metal arms were more than a little unnerving.

Arcade chuckled. "When we're done with the fun and voyeuristic viewing, Sally wanted me to tell you we've just entered the atmosphere and we'll be back at Big Mountain in just under an hour."

"That's fine, Arcade," Jaden replied. "Mobius'll need the time to get his scorpions ready. I just hope he stays coherent today of all days."

"Well, if we're done training how about we trade a few more stories?" Dan suggested.

"Sounds good to me, " Yuna agreed.

Jaden sighed. "I know it's my turn on the show and tell stuff, right? Well I suppose it's time for _that _then."

Boone had been around Jaden long enough to know that expression. "Ulysses and the Divide?"

"Got to be told sooner or later," Jaden seemed to lose energy, something that Leon picked up on fast.

"I'm guessing this wasn't one of your best days?"

"No, actually I think it was my biggest failure. It all started just before the big battle at Hoover Dam when I got this message from Ulysses..."

**The Hub-NCR**

The Hub, as usual, was a hive of activity. What was unusual was that most of the activity wasn't trading today, it was evacuation and resupply. The town was packed with refugees from the south and caravans from Shady Sands trying to escape the cyborg invasion. The locals had rallied round, tending to wounded and giving help where they could as they knew they'd probably have to join the exodus before long if the news on the grapevine was anything to go by. Everyone knew the NCR army was getting its ass handed to them, so everyone was set on getting out before the cyborgs did the same to them. They weren't fast enough.

"Dad? What's that?" A ten year old girl was the first to spot the fast incoming aerial object as it came in on the town.

Her father didn't get the time to respond. The object was a stolen cruise missile that the cyborgs had obtained at their original landing base and Epsilon had retrofitted. The nuclear warhead had been taken out and replaced with a chemical one. Most of the people just had time for a brief glance at it before it detonated overhead, covering the whole town in a thick cloud of yellow/gold gas.

Everyone had heard the enemy had used chemical weapons before and predictably screaming hysteria and panic set in as everyone tried to run with futile results. The gas cloud spread through every street in a matter of seconds, it was like a fog cloud on a mountain dropping down instantly. Visibility became zero and breathing impossible as the people started coughing on the gas. Contrary to expectation though, the gas wasn't toxic and it wasn't causing any pain, it was designed to subdue. 2 minutes later, aside from one or two last coughing bouts as the last few passed out, the town was as quiet as the grave. Everyone was asleep...and changing.

**Mothership Zeta**

Meanwhile a very subdued Jaden had just finished his tale. Leon had been fascinated and very impressed as he'd been through a few rough patches in his past. The Pitt and Point Lookout had been the closest things to hell he'd ever experienced, the Divide made both of those sound like picnic grounds. But he was incredulous by the end.

"So let me get this straight, Jaden. You fight through a wind blasted Deathclaw infested landscape straight out of hell, you go through caverns full of tunnelling monsters that can bring down Deathclaws and you fight through legions of pain stricken madmen from both main factions. All to stop this mad ex-courier unleashing another nuclear holocaust on the world and you call it a _failure?_ If that's a failure I'd hate to hear your definition of a success!"

All of Jaden's team had to suppress smiles when they heard that. They'd been trying to tell Jaden that themselves forever but, since they were his close friends, their opinions only made so much impact. A neutral stranger telling him the same thing was a different matter.

Jaden wasn't quite ready to concede the point. "But Ulysses..."

"...chose his own fate in the end," Leon cut him off. "I don't think there was much you could have done. He blamed you for actions which weren't really yours. You had no flashbacks in the Divide? Nothing of any kind like at Bitter Springs?"

Jaden shook his head. "No. But a lot of what he said got through to me. His insight on the NCR and the Legion, the White Legs in Zion...well what can I say? A lot of that helped me make the choices I did in the end."

"We all heard it too Jaden," Boone cut in. They'd all listened to Ulysses' holotapes from the Big Empty and the Divide on Jaden's pip-boy. "He was right about the troubles of Caesar's Legion and the NCR to an extent. About you, however, he couldn't have been more wrong."

"I wish I knew that for sure," Jaden sighed. "That's why I went into therapy with Usanagi."

"You don't need it to absolve yourself of this," Leon said firmly. "You just said it yourself: you had no flashbacks. You didn't feel any familiar connection to the place and you didn't know what was in that package. Nor did the NCR for that matter. Ulysses aimed his obsession at the wrong target if there was any real target to begin with which I doubt. It was just a tragic accident."

"He's right, Jaden," Ashley put in. "All of us see it, why don't you?"

"Because he felt a kinship with Ulysses, is that right?" Leon surmised. "You were both couriers and both of you had your lives trashed by events out of your control. You feel like you failed because you couldn't save him from himself."

"Something like that," Jaden admitted. "I just thought I could bring him around, you know? He was so intelligent and he still could have done so much for the world. He could have helped us."

"I don't think any of us are arguing with that, Jaden," Veronica spoke up. "I know how you feel and how it hurts, what with me and Elijah."

Leon looked at the katana Jaden was using and a thought struck him. "Well if that isn't enough to convince you, maybe this will. I read this story back in the Capital Wasteland when I was scavenging books for the library. Ever heard of the tale of the 47 ronin?"

"Can't say that I have," Jaden said cautiously.

"Thought not. It's not something that's in wide circulation now. It 's about 47 samurai back in feudal Japan, just like the one you saw with me on that playback, warriors who were sworn to protect their lords with their lives," Leon explained. "These 47 failed when their master got killed by another lord's betrayal. They became ronin, irredeemably disgraced samurai with no master, which they obviously didn't appreciate. Anyway the betrayer lord thinks he's got clean away with it and he's pulled a clever stunt until 3 years later when the ronin attack his castle and assassinate him in much the same way."

"That's kind of a good story," Cass ventured. "But what does it have to do with Jaden and Ulysses?"

"It hasn't finished yet. Once they were done all 47 of them went down to the castle courtyard, knelt down, drew their swords and then committed seppuku with them. That's to say they disembowelled themselves on their own blades."

"Jesus!" Dan almost looked ill.

"Why?" Ashley, like everyone else, was at a loss. "They'd done their duty, they got the bastard. Why waste their lives like that?"

"Bushido, their warrior code," Leon revealed. "We all love battle, don't we? The thrills and the kills. But at the end of the day you have to have a cause and a reason to go to battle and to do all that. It's what separates a warrior from a Raider or a mindless thug. You need a cause; be that a country, home, family, friends or even caring for others just like my dad...and someone like you, Jaden."

Jaden managed a small smile at that.

"When that cause is gone and your belief along with it, what do you have? The point I'm making, Jaden, is that both of you weren't just couriers. You were both warriors, modern day samurai in effect. You still had a cause to believe in and good friends to support you. Ulysses had none of that and so he became a modern day ronin. You were right about his intelligence and insight, he could see the writing was on the wall for the Legion, it's a dead end. As soon as they run out of opponents they'll turn in on each other."

"From what we've heard they've already started after the defeat we handed them," Boone said smugly.

"But that insight was what drove him into his downward spiral," Leon went on. "You can hear it in his tapes. His disgust with the White Legs for idolizing him, his disillusion with the Legion, his search for another cause and finding the Brotherhood and the NCR wanting. In all of that searching you became his unwitting focus. He was convinced you were to blame for the Divide and no doubt heard of your flashback at Bitter Springs. He lured you back to the Divide probably hoping for something similar there, that you'd remember what happened and being responsible for it. But he saw what we all do now: that he was wrong. You weren't the same person you were then, you didn't remember any of it and he'd spent god knows how many weeks and months chasing you for nothing. I think it finally pushed him over the edge."

Jaden started to realise where Leon was coming from. He remembered the final confrontation with Ulysses; he'd been almost resigned and disappointed. Jaden had thought he was disappointed because he'd got through and survived the Divide but now he knew that it was more than that.

"There's another possibility too: that he saw what you'd become and he wanted you to succeed," Leon ventured.

"He _wanted _me to kill him?" Now it was Jaden's turn to be incredulous.

"It does make a kind of sense, Jaden," Arcade explained. "On some level I think he admired you. You were building a nation under a new flag, something he wasn't able to do."

"Something I'm not able to do either," Leon admitted. "I don't have your charisma, Jaden. I've never been good at making friends, that was where Vault 101 didn't do me any good. That's where I envy you a little. I guess Ulysses figured that if his nuclear strike failed he needed a backup plan...and I think that was you. If he couldn't change the Mojave's course he'd have you do it after he made sure you were tough enough in his eyes. So let go of this guilt complex Jaden. He made his own choices, not your fault he chose wrong on a lot of them."

Jaden sighed as he knew the others were right. It was hard to save someone when they didn't want to be saved. It was just the waste of it that got to Jaden, Ulysses' insight and intelligence would have been a real help to New Vegas. His analysis of the state of the Mojave was nothing short of brilliant, but then again Jaden knew Ulysses' solution had been anything but. The world had had enough nuclear missiles already and there was no guarantee that it would have brought about the fresh start that Ulysses sought.

"Come on, we'd best get ready. We'll be back at Big Mountain soon and we need to get the scorpions aboard as soon as possible," Leon urged.

Jaden nodded in agreement, happy to be off the subject for now. "If the Think Tank's got everything ready they'll be assembling them outside the Sink ready for us to pick up."

**NW of Shady Sands- 2 hours later**

Colonel Moore's group were fighting a valiant retreat and were not giving up the fight. Despite giving ground all the time they kept harrying the advancing cyborgs at every opportunity whilst evacuating every village and settlement they went through, adding a lot of settlers to their numbers. But it was like trying to hold back a beach tide with buckets and spades, nothing could compensate for their lack of decisive firepower or the losses they kept taking. Their original 1500 force was almost down by half and the settlers they were collecting weren't enough to staunch the casualties.

"How far from the Capital are we now?" Moore asked almost in despair.

"Not much more than 15 miles," Polatli gasped. "We'll have to call the city garrison for help if we retreat much further. That is if we can get much further!"

The other, and somewhat obvious, problem was that the cyborgs were hunting them to exhaustion. They'd fallen back god knows how many miles and were in dire need of rest but their enemy wasn't giving them the chance, they didn't get tired and just kept going.

"Enemy scout formation sighted!"

"What already?" Reyes was gasping for breath as she prepared to pack up her radio gear again.

Hsu tried to rally morale as he shouted orders. "Alright men, hold it together! The same deal as before, heavy weapons barrage first. Give the civilians and lighter armed militia time to retreat."

"We're almost out of rockets, Colonel," A sweating Major Carter managed to blurt. "If we don't get relief or reinforcements soon..."

"GO MY ROBO-SCORPIONS! STING THEM UNTIL THEY'RE STUPID!"

At first everyone turned toward Reyes wondering if she'd picked up some crazy transmission on the radio.

"Don't look at me, the radio's not even on!"

"FACE THE WRATH OF MOBIUS! STING, STING AND STING AGAIN!"

Hsu realised the mad sounding voice was coming from behind them. He looked back and was rendered speechless at the sight of dozens of gaudy coloured robotic scorpions coming over the hill, they went straight past his beleaguered soldiers and opened up on the advancing cyborgs with their laser stingers.

The dozen scout cyborgs got taken by surprise too, four were downed before they even got a shot off in response, and all of a sudden they were outnumbered and outgunned. The scorpions' Saturnite based armour was more resistant to the drone scouts' plasma fire and, unlike most of the NCR weapons, their stinger lasers were effective.

Moore, Hsu and the others watched open mouthed as the horde of metal scorpions wiped out the scout platoon and then reformed into battle ranks, awaiting the moment when they would engage the main army.

"I wish Mobius had turned off those stupid loudspeakers!"

"That aside, not too bad Jaden."

Hsu's face broke into a grin as he saw Jaden and Leon coming over the hill. "How does he do it?"

"Jaden Storm," Moore said as neutrally as she could although she was very relieved he'd shown up when he had.

"Heard you had a problem," Jaden replied in the same neutral tone. "I hope I haven't shown up too late!"

**Sky Carrier**

"What happened? Get him back!" Delta was unusually worried. He'd been in radio conversation with Epsilon who'd flown out to check on the results of the missile strike on the Hub.

"We can't. The contact was lost on his end," Sigma was just as concerned. He was certain he'd heard gunfire in the background before they'd lost contact. "Should we send in a follow up team to check?"

"Yes we have to," Delta agreed. "Send a force of 30 to investigate. That should be more than sufficient to suppress any trouble Epsilon may have run into, assuming he hasn't already got out of it himself."

"Imperator, another communiqué from Sub Commander Gamma. He says he's meeting fierce resistance!"

"Show me one of his unit's camera feeds!"

The cyborg operator linked up to an Arachnotron's chest camera to the sight of Gamma's cyborgs fighting an all out battle with Mobius' scorpions. From what they could see the battle was an even match, the scorpions' armour didn't fare so well against xeno technology but the scorpions' tail lasers were cutting down cyborgs just as well.

"Technology from Big Mountain," Sigma spat. "There's only one person I know of in this region capable of harnessing that, though how he procured it and moved it to the battlefield here is a mystery."

"The Courier," Delta agreed. "I underestimated him it seems. We'll have to finish our invasion and knock the NCR out of commission faster so we can deal with this new threat. What's the status of Omicron's group?"

"70% of his opposing NCR force has been deleted outright. 15% has been captured and subdued for upgrade or flesh processing as appropriate. Remaining 15% is retreating toward Shady Sands. Commander Omicron and sky fighter leader are standing by for further orders."

Delta felt a cold wave of satisfaction. Over 25000 NCR troops dead or taken prisoner. He'd broken the back of the NCR army in a single battle and the way to the capital was open before him. The NCR was all but at his mercy; a quality he didn't have much of.

"Tell Omicron's ground force to advance on the NCR capital with all haste. Order the sky fighters to return here to rearm and recharge, they will be supporting Omicron's attack. What is the status of Liberation Prime?"

"Fully operational, Imperator."

Delta smiled cruelly. "Excellent. Send him to the North immediately. Contact Commander Gamma and inform him of this. The Courier's resources are enough to match our ground troops. Let's see how he handles one of the Capital Wasteland's greatest weapons..."


	17. Clash of the metal titans

100 reviews! Thanks guys, I didn't think I could get this far so quickly! I've nearly outdone my first fic and I'm not even finished with this yet...thanks again.

Wolffe: I guess I can only say 'ask and ye shall receive' because that's exactly what's coming up. Well done for working it out.

eaglescorch: Not quite but almost. Delta knows about the scorpions...but not the ructions in his own ranks.

Oddliver: 1st point very true. 2nd you're about to find out.

ejthepinoy: I'm still playing it out a part at a time and I think I'll have to say yes to that one. They'll need the numbers later. It might still be a part or 2 off before they come in.

Merry Christmas and I'll be back in the new year...

**NW of Shady Sands-new NCR camp**

The battle was still raging fiercely but, for once, the NCR's soldiers were out of the firing line as the Big Empty scorpions took the heat and they'd had time to set up a makeshift camp and staging area. Reyes had switched her radio back on so she could keep tabs on the battle through a forward scout, namely Leon. He'd gone out ahead under stealth cover and got taken by surprise by what he saw: the cyborg legions were pulling back. Not in panic or all out flight but an orderly fighting retreat.

He switched on his handheld radio. "They're pulling back. They're still in good shape but they're retreating."

"Retreating?" Reyes' voice sounded confused. "But they still have the numbers don't they? What's up with that?"

"You mean what are they up to?" Leon replied. "They never give up that easily."

"We'll send out more scouts and figure it out. Come on back."

"What do you think, Jaden?" Hsu asked as everyone else listened in on the radio. The rest of Jaden's group had teleported in out of sight over the hill and were assisting the NCR anyway they could.

"I think he's right," Jaden reasoned. "One: he knows more about these cyborgs than most. Two: I've seen these things fight; they're relentless. If they're retreating it's for a reason and I'll bet it's one we won't like."

Colonel Moore was relieved to see Ashley still alive and well after what little she'd heard of the Cold River massacre. Ashley had given her an almost full debriefing of what she'd learned the last few days. She left out any mention of the Big Empty or the Zeta Mothership for now. In the first place Ashley didn't want her sanity questioned and in the second place she didn't want to jeopardise her relationship and the NCR alliance with Jaden.

"He's fighting with us Colonel and we need his help," Ashley finished. "We'll never win this war alone, not the way things are."

"I already got that idea," Moore admitted. "We've taken enough losses to make that abundantly clear. But what about the other one? His new friend that is; the Dark Phantom I believe the radio called him? Thanks to Senator Caldwell he's a marked man here, he even put a bounty out when he realised New Vegas wasn't going to act against him."

Much to Moore's surprise Ashley snorted in derision. "If anyone's stupid enough to try and claim that they'll be going home parcel post and in very small boxes. He's got a more famous name where he's from: the Lone Wanderer."

Hsu overheard. "Lone Wanderer? I heard some wild rumours from travellers about a hero from the east who used that name. Supposedly he fought the Enclave after we did and defeated them."

Jaden smiled. "Not supposedly, Colonels. He didn't just defeat them either, he annihilated them. If I was you I'd put a hands off order out real quick unless...oh shit too late."

Leon had arrived back from his scout run carrying a service rifle that certainly wasn't his and his sword was out and dripping blood.

"A few problems Leon?" Jaden asked.

"Not of the cyborg kind," Leon grunted. "A few NCR troops thought they were going to take me down for some bounty. They were ranting about some senator's son, I didn't listen too much. Anyway they thought outnumbering me 6 to 1 would force me to 'see reason and surrender' as the leader put it."

"And?" Ashley asked with a sinking heart.

Leon retracted his sword and shrugged his shoulders. "They were wrong. Given our situation I hope I don't have to repeat this object lesson."

As Leon coldly dumped the rifle at their feet and walked away Jaden winced before turning to the Colonels with an apologetic look. "He's from the Capital Wasteland and...well let's just say he's less tolerant and quicker to use his combat skills than I am."

"Point taken," Hsu grimaced as he glanced at Moore who was somewhat taken aback but thought better of it as Ashley mouthed 'no' at her whilst shaking her head.

"The cyborgs captured him once," Jaden explained further. "Almost did a complete conversion on him. That's why he followed them over here; revenge for that and to make sure they're stopped."

Jaden left the rest unsaid but it didn't need to be said. Leon's cold demeanour, coupled with the six NCR corpses on the edge of the camp, made the message very clear: god help anyone who got in his way.

**Sky Carrier**

Delta wasn't going to admit it to anyone but he was feeling a measure of concern. They'd heard nothing from the follow up squad they'd sent to the Hub and a patrol sent to Junktown hadn't reported in either. As if that was not enough there was still no word from Epsilon.

"I'm at a loss to explain it, Imperator," Sigma admitted. "We don't even have the patrol's visual links, they just got cut off."

"We'll have to check it later on," Delta decided. "Unfortunate though it is the offensive on Shady Sands takes precedence. Move the carrier to support Omicron's group and tell them to press forward. Where is Liberation Prime?"

"Two hours away from engagement."

"Excellent."

**NCR camp**

By now Jaden had brought up more reinforcements from Vegas, namely some of his militia and the Aces along with ED-E. The NCR had started intercepting eyebot style coded transmissions so they'd brought him down to try and translate. The bad news from the south had come in too, demoralising an already beleaguered force.

"Goddamnit! I _told _them a frontal numbers assault wasn't going to work!" Jaden snarled.

"A trap and they fell straight into it!" Leon wasn't that impressed either. "Do they have much idea of the enemy's numbers?"

"About 2-3000 give or take," Reyes said. "But that wasn't the real problem according to Major Dhatri. They kept getting bombed by those aircraft of theirs and then mauled by some giant robot."

A chill went through Leon as he heard that. "What giant robot?"

As if on cue to that question ED-E bounced as he picked up and relayed a cyborg transmission.

"Gamma to carrier, we have disengaged."

"Excellent Gamma, reorganise your forces and await arrival of Liberation Prime before reengaging, carrier out."

Leon's fears had now become almost dead certainty. "How!? It's impossible!"

"What is? You look like you've seen a ghost," Jaden worried.

"I haven't yet but I'm sure I will," Leon muttered. "As if things weren't bad enough!"

"Ok, I'm guessing you know what this Liberation Prime is?" Boone guessed.

"I don't know for sure yet but if they've got what I think they've got then we're in some serious shit. Liberty Prime was the last great weapon of the American-Chinese War, it was a giant war robot armed with particle beams and mini-nukes. The eastern Brotherhood happened to get hold of it and it helped us win the war against the Enclave. If the cyborgs have copied it...I don't think we've got anything that can match it on the ground! That's how serious this is!"

"The Enclave couldn't stop it?" Hsu was in disbelief.

"No and given these radio reports I don't think your troops had much luck with this one either," Leon grunted. "I'd better go and scout down to the south now. Find out if it is headed our way. "

"I'll go with you," Jaden insisted. "I want to see it for myself."

As it turned out they didn't have to walk very far. Just one valley over and up to the top of a hill to be exact before they saw Liberation Prime on the horizon.

"Is that...?" Jaden guessed the answer before he spoke.

"Yeah, that's it," Leon said grimly. "You should have seen what it did to the Enclave. Even your scorpions won't stand up to that."

"Actually I've got one that might," Jaden smiled as he reached for his radio. "Sally, can you bring down the X-42?"

"X-42?" Leon's curiosity had been piqued.

"I'll show you when we get back to camp!"

**Sky Carrier**

"Omicron's forces have regrouped and are marching on the Capital," Sigma felt his optimism return. "Sky fighter squadron is ready to support when needed also. There's only one question that needs answering, Imperator..."

"Deploy them."

Sigma smiled at Delta's flat reply. "Are you sure you want to use them all at the same time?"

"As I said before we don't stop hammering the organics until they beg for mercy. The Courier's involvement hasn't changed that but it does mean we need to speed up. We need a quick clean victory against the NCR, Liberation 2 and 3 will assure that. Deploy them now."

"Complying!"

**NCR camp**

Leon had been impressed when he saw the X-42 and its heavy laser firepower. The NCR and Jaden's friends had been speechless when the giant scorpion had dropped its cloaking device in the middle of the camp and Jaden had to calm a lot of nervous soldiers down.

"So what do you think?" Jaden asked proudly.

"It'll depend how the battle goes," Leon said neutrally. "It's got a chance given its thick armour, but it's really a question of who lands the killer blow first. Their firepower seems even."

"Guess we'll find out soon," Boone had spotted Liberation Prime thorough binoculars. Knowing what it had done to Colonel Dunning's army it was a chilling sight even for him.

Jaden sucked in a breath. "Ok, here goes nothing. Send it in."

"COME ONLINE X-42! SHOW THEM THE WRATH OF MOBIUS!"

"Can't we do something about that stupid voice?!" Veronica muttered as the X-42 scuttled out of the camp.

"Not that I've worked out yet," Jaden sighed. "It kind of came with the package."

"ANALYZING SERIOUS THREAT. ADAMANTIUM REINFORCED TITANIUM STEEL ARMED WITH HIGH OUTPUT LASER! NEUTRALISING THREAT!"

Unfortunately Liberation Prime had already sighted X-42 and was readying a mini-nuke. X-42 quickly tried to counter, armed its heavy laser and snapped off a shot. It was a pretty good one, striking Liberation Prime in the left arm and causing major damage as the force of the laser and its explosive damage ripped off the arm and caused splash damage to the torso.

It wasn't good enough, though, to stop Liberation Prime throwing the mini-nuke with its right arm. It sailed straight at X-42's left claw and exploded, smashing the claw and the whole of its left side open.

"Both armless now," Dan joked in a hollow fashion.

"It needs to close in," Leon reasoned. "It can't take another hit like that!"

The X-42's combat systems seemed to agree and it scuttled forward to close range. Liberation Prime didn't have much in the way of close range weapons except for its fists and weight but it wasted no time in aiming its one remaining fist at X-42's front. X-42 grabbed the fist with its remaining claw and the two were locked in a test of strength, neither giving an inch of ground.

Liberation Prime still had one edge though; namely his legs. Even though his arm was pinned He'd started kicking at X-42 with his left foot.

"Shit! At that rate he's going to rattle something loose!" Moore cursed. "Get some Vertibird support..."

"Forget it!" Leon cut her off. "He'll just hose them down!"

As if to reinforce the point Liberation Prime fired his particle beams and started to melt X-42's claw.

"ENEMY STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY DEGRADING! PROBABLITY OF SURVIVAL: ZERO PERCENT!"

Unfortunately for Liberation Prime, X-42 seemed to agree with him. "X-42! SELF-DESTRUCT WITH HONOUR AND IN THE NAME OF MOBIUS!"

X-42 transferred all of its remaining power to the atomic laser and fired at point blank range, shattering both Liberation Prime's chest plate and most of its own armour and circuitry. Seconds later X-42's own power source went critical and it self-destructed in Liberation Prime's face. The explosion ripped the giant robot's internal circuitry and main power systems to shreds.

"CATASTROPHIC...DAMAGE...SUSTAINED..."

Liberation Prime had taken too much damage to stay upright. It crashed down first to its knees and then flat on the ground. Small explosions ruptured the main body and the head detached and rolled onto the ground.

"History repeats and this time it's a good thing," Leon smiled in satisfaction.

**Sky Carrier**

Sigma couldn't believe the readouts he was receiving. "Imperator, Liberation Prime...it's been deleted!"

"What?! It can't be!"

"According to the computers I'm afraid it can," Sigma said apologetically. "The visual systems and communicator in the head still have power. Should I activate them?"

"Yes, do that," Delta ordered. "It's time I talked to the Courier directly assuming he's still there. He's proving more trouble than I ever anticipated."

**NCR camp**

Jaden, his friends and a lot of the NCR troops had gathered around the downed Liberation Prime like a pack of vultures.

"You did it again, Jaden!" Hsu congratulated.

"Yeah, but I wish we hadn't lost X-42," Jaden looked wistfully at the remains. "That was the only one we had!"

Everyone jumped suddenly jumped back in alarm and readied weapons as Liberation Prime's head suddenly powered up again. Instead of particle beams, however, it projected an image from the sky carrier; namely of Delta himself.

"Well, well, Jaden Storm. I wondered when we'd have this conversation," Delta's image coldly smiled.

"You must be the Imperator I've heard so much about," Jaden replied frostily. "Or should I call you Delta?"

Delta was a little perturbed by Jaden's abundance of information but didn't let it show. "You know me? How flattering."

"What I've heard and seen of you and your...things is hardly flattering!" Jaden spat.

Delta didn't seem fazed. "I'm simply following the law of evolution. The weak and the obsolete are always surpassed by the strong. I'm surprised this point is lost on you, Courier, given how many battles you've been through and the upgrades you received during that time."

This time it was Jaden's turn to be surprised. How Delta had learned of his hidden talents was a mystery to him.

"You're a cyborg like us," Delta went on. "Well maybe not completely. Your body may be mostly still organic but you have improved reflexes, healing and endurance; you are a step above humanity however much you deny it. Why do you waste your talents and your time defending these obsolete relics of the failed old world? They deleted your parents, they indulge in corruption and they are an evolutionary dead end! You could be so much more than a defender of the useless. Cease your hostilities against us and I guarantee you that your own nation will be spared our onslaught. With someone as worthy as you in charge there your nation could easily join our new order."

All eyes turned to Jaden, most of them full of concern. Given everything Jaden had been through and what the cyborgs were capable of everyone knew that was a tempting offer. But their fears were baseless.

"A new order? What 'new' order is that?" Jaden's voice dripped with contempt. "An order based on mass slaughter? With anything even slightly different from you ground into the dirt? That's not bringing order that's just plain butchery! I might have a few extra parts in me but I'm still human and I'll die that way! You can take your offer and shove it up your metal ass! Consider this a declaration of war from the New Vegas Alliance; we are standing with the NCR against you."

"Really?" Delta snorted. "You may have brought down Liberation Prime but I have many more weapons in my arsenal. What makes you think you can triumph over the inevitable given your ties with such weak allies?"

Jaden didn't get a chance to reply before Leon's hand appeared on his shoulder. The Lone Wanderer had shed his mask and his visor and stood side by side with Jaden in Delta's full, and stunned, view.

"_I'm_what makes him think so, Delta!" Leon snarled.

This time Delta couldn't hide his shock. "Omega!"

"You thought you saw the last of me on the east coast didn't you?" Leon's hatred had gone into overdrive.

"How did you find us?" Delta asked.

"Blame your late unlamented old commander. He left us a recorded message at Vault 66. We found that and your flight coordinates and traced you over here. You weren't dumb enough to think I was going to let you go did you?"

Delta mentally cursed. He'd not figured on Alpha leaving a message behind and hadn't factored this into his battle plans.

"I knew we'd fight again someday, Omega. I didn't expect it to be this soon admittedly but I welcome it nonetheless!"

"Says you," Leon wasn't buying that for a minute. "You already underestimated Jaden. He's quite the hero and you were right to be wary of him. But you didn't count on facing him yet did you? Or me for that matter. Thousands of NCR troops: nothing to worry about. But one Courier and one Lone Wanderer? Now you're going to feel fear!"

"Not before you do!" Delta had regained his confidence. "You think I'm not prepared at all? I've had three years to rebuild our race and prepare for this campaign. Your choice in allies was poor at best, especially since I'm about to claim final victory over them!"

A chill went through Hsu, Moore and the NCR troops. "What does that mean?" Moore could contain herself no more.

Delta laughed mockingly. "You organics always need the obvious pointing out don't you? What did you think we were doing whilst you were battling Liberation Prime? Sitting on our rear ends?"

Leon knew the answer wasn't one they were going to like. "So why don't you tell us since you obviously can't wait to."

"In ten minutes, when our forces finish moving into position, your precious NCR capital will feel the full wrath of our ground troops, our sky fighter squadrons and 2 other Liberation class robots that we have constructed!" Delta gloated.

"You've 2 more war robots like this?!" Ashley couldn't keep the horror out of her voice.

"Is your hearing capability defective?" Delta taunted. "Yes, we built two others since the first worked out well. By the time you reach Shady Sands it will a shady smoking crater, its inhabitants dead or taken for conversion and our flesh vats. The NCR goes into terminal decline today and..."

Delta was cut off by a fusillade of laser beams from a shaking and furious Yuna shattering the projection lens.

"Now what?" Jaden asked grimly.

"We pack up and retreat that's what!" Leon grunted.

"We can't retreat now!" Moore objected. "The Capital..."

"...is fucked!" Leon was not in the mood for useless debate. "As much as I hate to admit it Delta's got the edge this time. We can't stand up to 2 more Liberty robots and all the cyborg army there too!"

"I hate to say it but I think he's right Colonel," Polatli admitted. "We've got to retreat and protect New Reno and Vault City if we can. Not to mention we still have the other cyborg army between us and there."

"Between us and Jaden's scorpions we should be able to punch through that," Leon reasoned. "We'll just have to hope that everyone cleared out of the capital in time."

**Big Empty**

Inside the Think Tank things had taken another unexpected turn. The brains had been taken by surprise by 4 cyborgs and were now being held at gunpoint.

"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?" Klein barked. "HOW DID OUR DOME GET INFESTED WITH THESE METALLIC LOBOTOMITES?"

"We're not lobotomites, we're sentient cyborgs or was that not obvious?" Although the cyborgs appeared to be regular black armoured drone models they were anything but. They varied in ages from 13-30 and were all sentient. "We've secured the room, you can come up anytime."

The entrance door opened a minute later to admit a very much alive and fully functional Epsilon. "Good work."

"Is Cody here?" the youngest cyborg was, in fact, Cody's friend John from Cold River.

"You needn't be concerned," Epsilon had seen the cryo pods. "He's here. Very clever, Courier, using these to freeze my nanites."

"Please do not take them," Dr Dala appealed. "They are friends of our controller."

"I wouldn't be here were it otherwise," Epsilon explained as he examined the pods. "Good. Built in and self sustaining power cells. I'm afraid my purpose makes it necessary to take them. I've no interest in harming them I can assure you of that."

"Then what is your intent?" Borous asked with nervous feeling.

"That I'm keeping to myself for now. But when you next see the Courier give him a message from me. If he cares anything about these 2, or the future of this whole region for that matter, he should take the opportunity to meet with me soon at Nipton in New Vegas. Tell him not to be too long either, I haven't got much in the way of time."

2 of the cyborgs started wheeling the tubes out through the door to the waiting Vertibird outside. Epsilon allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction as he left, everything was going according to plan so far.

"I see we're done here," Epsilon was met at the Vertibird by another female primary cyborg. She'd been 18 at the time of her conversion and had been blonde. Now her young face was transformed forever by the usual red eye and plating and she was designated as Tau.

"Yes. I take it we're clear of the Hub and Junktown?"

"We cleared our people out and the Imperator's investigating patrols were deleted quickly as you ordered. But you know our new people don't trust us..."

"Yes I know," Epsilon admitted. "But we've got no choice and neither have they. It all depends on the Courier whether we see much of a future."

This was a plan Epsilon himself disliked despite being its chief proponent. Until the Courier responded it was time to play the waiting game...


	18. Cyber Alliance?

Ok, first off thanks for all the reviews/favs/follows and sorry for the big delay. To cut a long story short I'm reorganising as I'm branching out and writing 2 at once now. Updates might be a week or so further apart from now on as I alternate between this and Legacy of Evil. But don't worry they'll still be coming. Eaglescorch will never let me retire so I'll just keep writing!

Cold secrets: Cheers and Happy New Year!

Zeref Alemer: It's not just you. Epsilon is different and has an agenda of his own. Well worked out.

Oddliver: Can't reveal too much alas!

ARavingLoony: Unfortunately the carrier has the same sort of cannon plus a few squadrons of sky fighters. Jaden and Leon also don't want to reveal the Zeta ship unless they have to.

Aky141: Not quite a mortar salvo it was a satellite missile strike with real high drop velocity. On your other points, maybe, but it's one enemy I definitely wouldn't want to fight in game.

MrUnclePeanuts: Thanks, I thought it best to do some research on this. Renaming themselves after real Romans stuck as something the Legion would really do as they take their mantle very seriously.

Superstar Kid: I thought it would be the appropriate moment. Delta really riles Leon so Leon wouldn't resist doing that.

Blazin'saint: Thanks for that. Not many crossover fics and even fewer that seem to get finished so I'm hoping to start a trend.

DeathscytheVII: I recommend you try Old World Blues someday, it was the best NV DLC for me. The nanite virus is an issue but there's another twist coming up there...

eaglescorch: Perceptive as ever. Not quite a coup though more of a cut loose.

**Shady Sands**

Delta hadn't been bluffing as the poor inhabitants of Shady Sands had found out. A few minutes after Liberation Prime was destroyed his sky fighters fell on the NCR capital, lacing buildings and streets with blue fire. The few Vertibirds that tried to intervene were not a problem, at least not for long. They weren't the worst of it either.

"CYBERNETIC VICTORY INEVITABLE! NCR WILL BE DELETED!"

"ALL HAIL THE IMPERATOR! THE NEW CYBER ERA HAS COME!"

Liberation units 2 and 3 were striding through the streets swatting any opposition aside effortlessly. The city garrison and the few NCR army units that were defending couldn't handle one of these opponents, let alone two. Omicron's cyborgs were calmly strolling in behind, picking off survivors and taking a few captives here and there. Panicked screaming civilians were fleeing in every direction. Most were dying at the hands of the Liberators or the fighter runs, turned into human torches by particle beams and blue laser or simply atomised out of existence in mini-nuke explosions.

Senator Hanlon watched the slaughter from a hilltop overlooking the burning city alongside Colonel Dunning, Major Dhatri and the remnant of the ill fated NCR force.

"We have to leave, Senator," Dhatri advised. "We can't wait for civilian stragglers any longer. "

"I just wish there was more we could do," Hanlon felt sick to his stomach.

"As much as I hate to admit it, we can't," Dunning felt just as ill. "We couldn't take down one of those giant killers alone. Now we've got two with fighter support and that battleship of theirs can't be far off. We got to retreat now."

"We'll go as soon as Chief Koenig arrives with the President," Hanlon promised. "Here he is now."

Koenig's face was as grim as a mortician's. Hanlon guessed the reason as he came up to meet them with 2 of his Rangers: there was no sign of the President.

"He's dead," Koenig wasted no time in confirming the worst.

"How could the cyborgs have reached him that quickly?" Dhatri asked in amazement.

"They didn't," Koenig revealed. "He took his own life."

A surge of dismay and despair rushed through the group as they heard that news. The memory was still haunting Koenig now and probably would do forever. As soon as the attack had started on Shady Sands' outer suburbs he'd rushed up to the President's office with 2 other Rangers to get him out. He'd been surprised to find the door locked and after a minute and a half of no replies to his frantic knocking and shouting he'd broken the door down.

Even he wasn't prepared for what he found. President Aaron Kimball, or rather the late president, was slumped over in his chair. Strewn across his desk were a spread of army reports from the Vegas campaign of the last four years and the more recent battles and casualty reports from the NCR's fight against the cyborgs. A torn note was laid across the montage with three simple words: on my head. Ironic considering a good chunk of Kimball's head was now splattered across the floor thanks to the 10mm round that'd gone through it.

Hanlon let out a depressed sigh. Although he'd never personally liked Kimball he'd have never wished that on him.

"As the leader of Congress, Senator, you are now provisionally in charge until a new President is elected," Koenig said formally. "And I suggest we leave right now while we have the chance."

Koenig's voice jerked Hanlon back to grim reality. "Very well. Have the civilian caravans and the regular forces head for the Vegas border. Hopefully they'll be granted safe haven there."

"And what about us?" Dhatri asked.

"We, along with the Rangers, are going northwest to link up with Hsu and Moore and to liaise with the Courier," Hanlon replied. "Right now he might be the only chance we've got."

**Sky Carrier**

"Imperator, Commander Gamma has heard of the destruction of Liberation Prime. He's requesting permission to reengage."

Delta was tempted but only briefly. "Denied. Have him retreat to the south and then link up with us. We will finish off the NCR and then deal with our other enemies."

"He won't like that," Sigma replied bluntly.

"Whether he likes it or not is irrelevant. I can't afford to lose him," Delta snapped. "Jaden Storm is a formidable opponent and with Omega in this fight and backing him up also? No, we can't afford unnecessary risks. Order him to withdraw."

"What of Omicron's force?"

"Tell them to pursue the organics fleeing the city," Delta's face regained his usual cold smile. "Once his group and the Liberators are clear I think you know what to do."

Sigma matched his smile. "Of course, Imperator."

**NW of Shady Sands**

The northern NCR forces were close to absolute exhaustion and Hsu knew it. They'd been fighting and running flat out from Gamma's cyborg group without any rest and now they had to march north to Vault City or New Reno again. The only saving grace was that Gamma's group had retreated away from them, giving some respite. Everyone knew that it couldn't last long so they'd rested barely an hour before packing up camp and heading north toward the border.

Hsu and Moore were still more than a little nervous about Leon but there was nothing they could do. He was here at Jaden's invitation and Jaden was now pretty much calling the tune. If they pissed off Jaden too much he could just pack up and head back to his own country and leave them facing armageddon alone. It wasn't like that was very likely, both knew Jaden was not the sort to abandon people, but they knew they couldn't push their luck.

"I'm having my Vertibirds take your wounded to Vault City and New Reno," Jaden broke Hsu's train of thought. "I think that might become the front line for awhile."

"You're not worried about New Vegas?" Hsu was surprised at Jaden's sudden commitment to defending the NCR remnants.

"Sure I am but I don't think Delta wants to go for it yet," Jaden reasoned. "For all his power I don't think he wants to leave you to recover and risk getting flanked if he attacks Vegas. Especially as he knows about my Securitrons and that we'll put up a hard fight."

A panicked Arcade ran over with a handheld radio. "Jaden! An urgent message for you."

As Jaden took the call Hsu was pulled aside by an unusually emotional Moore. It looked like she was barely holding it in and Hsu could guess why.

"They've started their assault on the Capital haven't they?"

Moore nodded. "From what we were able to get over the radio a cyborg force three times as large as what we were facing and 2 more giant robots. That bastard wasn't lying. They're now in the process of levelling the city and killing everything that gets in their way."

"Keep it together," Hsu said. "We've both got to stay strong even if the worst..."

"WHAT?!"

Hsu was cut off by Jaden's outburst over the radio.

"What do you mean they're gone? How did they get...? Never mind, tell them I'm coming back!"

"What's wrong?" Veronica asked in concern.

"Plenty. Find Ashley fast, she needs to know her sister's been taken by a team of cyborgs!"

"What? How?" Veronica's mouth was hanging open in shock. "How did they find...?"

"I don't know how they found them but they did," Jaden was angry at himself for not being able to stop this. "I've got to get back to the lab and find out what's gone down and how much damage they've done."

"Wait Jaden, we're still in the middle of a war!" Moore broke in. "The cyborgs could hit us again at any time and our men are exhausted!"

"I'm not cutting and running," Jaden assured her. "I'll be back to meet you at New Reno. But I can't let this go, the cyborgs haven't just kidnapped Ashley's sister they've penetrated my weapons lab! The scorpions could be compromised and if that's the case we are _really _in the shit! They're the only standing army I've got outside New Vegas right now."

Both Colonels knew the truth of that. "If that's the case...go Jaden. We'll see you again soon with good news, I hope!" Hsu eventually sighed.

"Raul, Arcade, stay here and make sure they stay protected with the scorpions," Jaden ordered. "Everyone else follow me!"

**NE of Shady Sands**

Despite leaving in good time Hanlon and Koenig knew the refugee caravan convoy wouldn't move fast enough to get away entirely. An hour down the road they were proved right as advance elements of Omicron's army caught up to them and they were soon under multiplas fire. Fortunately most of the troops protecting the convoy were heavily armed NCR Rangers who could give as good as they got. Despite this Koenig was not feeling too confident and said as much to Hanlon.

"We can't stay here too long! I know we can't leave anyone behind but it won't be long before the others catch up and overrun us!"

"I know," Hanlon grimly acknowledged. "But I'm not leaving anyone behind to these things if we can help it!"

"I'll tell the missile units and snipers to try and flank them," Koenig grimly ordered. He never got the chance as things took an unexpected turn.

"Shit! Second group coming in from the south-east! The fuckers have flanked us!"

To the horror of the defenders the soldier was right. A second lighter armed group had come over the ridge and was now bearing down on them.

Koenig growled in rage. "Sergeant, pull your men over here to cover...what the fuck?"

Koenig, Hanlon and every NCR soldier had to work hard to stop their eyes popping out of their skulls. The new second group had turned and was firing plasma bolts into Omicron's main army.

"What the hell...they're fighting each other now?" Dhatri was frozen in astonishment.

Koenig snapped out of it quick. "Here's our chance, let's get out of here!"

"Shouldn't we attack and press the advantage?" One Ranger asked keen for revenge.

"Whichever side wins they'll turn on us when they're done. We've got to get these people out so get moving!"

**Mothership Zeta**

As soon as Jaden was back on the ship he opened a radio link to the Big Empty. Much to his relief the Think Tank and the doctors were all still ok and there was no permanent damage.

"I'm sorry teddy bear. There was nothing we could do to stop them taking your friends."

"That's ok Dala. It's not your fault; I'll be in touch soon, Jaden out."

"I can't believe this is happening!" Ashley wailed. The last few hours had left her a mental wreck.

"How did they find the Big Empty?" Veronica was at a real loss. "I thought only you knew about it, Jaden."

"That's not all that's wrong," Leon mused. "If Delta had pulled this off how come he didn't mention it back at the battlefield?"

"That's a real good point," Jaden realised. "You think he's playing a double game?"

"Not his style," Dan disagreed. "If he'd taken Kelly and Cody he'd want to gloat and grind our noses in it. He didn't even mention it. "

"And he didn't mention penetrating the Big Empty either. That would have been even more of a win for him," Veronica pointed out.

"Jaden, you told me to listen in on the radio frequencies?" Elliott spoke up. "Well I listened in to an NCR transmission. A refugee convoy was being attacked by a cyborg army but they got away because another cyborg army showed up...and the 2 opened fire on each other!"

"Cyborgs fighting cyborgs? It doesn't make sense unless...," Jaden's eyes widened. "So does this mean...?"

"I honestly don't know how," Leon admitted. "But unless Delta's playing another very elaborate game, which I doubt, we've got 2 cyborg factions on our hands here."

"So Kelly could still be ok?" Ashley knew she was clutching at straws.

"Well if this theory's right she's not in Delta's hands and that's good," Jaden tried to be positive. "But we don't know much about this other faction either."

"And there's only one way we're likely to find that out," Yuna sighed.

"Yeah, to go to this meeting in Nipton which could easily be a set up," Cass snorted in agreement.

Jaden wasn't so sure. "Not necessarily. What if they are a breakaway faction? If they are they'll be looking for allies to help them fight Delta, we can provide that!"

"Don't jump to conclusions Jaden," Leon warned. "I know you're desperate for friends to boost your forces but just because they're enemies of Delta doesn't automatically make them friends of ours. Ok, they may be looking for allies, but what if it's forced ones? What if they're looking to take you alive?"

"It makes sense, Jaden," Boone was worried. "They could just be looking for a way to get rid of Delta and then take over the campaign themselves. After what you did at Hoover Dam I'm betting they think you'd be the perfect way of doing that."

"Except I'd never help them," Jaden said forcefully.

"Upgraded you would," Leon pressed. "Both this lot and Delta would like nothing better than to see you as a cyborg. With your talent you'd probably guarantee victory for whatever side you were on."

"So what do we do, ignore this?" Jaden was exasperated. "We might never get Kelly and Cody back if we do."

"No you're right about that, we certainly don't ignore it. We just take precautions that's all," Leon agreed. "If they're serious about negotiating we can take them up on it. If not...we'll make sure they regret it. They are _not_ getting either one of us, Jaden. Better dead than one of them, trust me on that."

"Maybe one of us could sneak in ahead and see if they're setting any ambushes?" Ashley suggested.

Leon nodded in approval. "Good call. In fact I think I've got the perfect candidate." Everyone was surprised when he walked over to ED-E. "Well, after he's had one or two modifications..."

**Nipton**

Epsilon and Tau had parked their Vertibird just outside the town hall and were fretfully waiting for Jaden to show. Nipton was the perfect meeting place. Although the crucified gangers and the bull banners had long since been removed it had stayed a ghost town. Settlers didn't feel comfortable putting down roots in a town with such bloody history and that was too far from Vegas to offer full security.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tau's worry hadn't lessened since they'd left the Big Empty.

"As I've already said what choice do we have?" Epsilon replied. "There's no way we can take on the Imperator by ourselves."

"But we have the numbers now. We managed to get the Hub and all those other settlements on our side and..."

"Numbers we have, quality and experience we do not," Epsilon cut her right off. "Saving that NCR convoy proved that beyond doubt. Half our force didn't come back and that was just facing an advance platoon. The Imperator's troops are more heavily armed and combat seasoned. We wouldn't have a chance in an open fight and that's not even taking the carrier or his other weapons into account."

Tau sighed. "But what if the Courier doesn't help us? He could shoot us down on sight especially since we took his friends from under him."

"I don't think so. It's unfortunate we had to do that but it gives us some measure of security, he can't kill us if he wants to recover them can he? I regret it had to be done but, like you, I'd rather not have him try to kill us out of hand."

Neither one noticed the hovering sphere shaped distortion nearby as it moved away after overhearing their conversation. It quietly moved south out of town to the old drive in where it deactivated its new stealth mode and revealed itself as ED-E.

"I think he likes those new mods you gave him, Leon!" Jaden grinned as ED-E bounced in agreement.

"Glad to hear it, I was half afraid they weren't going to work," Leon admitted. "So...just one Vertibird and 2 cyborgs."

"So where are my sister and Cody?" Ashley asked.

"If they're anywhere they'll be on that Vertibird, assuming they're here at all," Leon figured.

"I guess there's only one way to find out. No point putting it off any longer. I'll go alone, we don't want to scare them off and lose them forever." Jaden exhaled heavily and started to walk into town.

"No way!" Ashley said fiercely as she ran after him. "That's my sister they've got and I'm going with you!"

Jaden sighed. "All right, but let me do the talking."

"I'll watch your back up close," Leon promised as he activated his stealth mode.

"I'll cover you through my scope," Boone had attached a scope to his new laser rifle. Like Cass, he didn't much like energy weapons but beggars couldn't be choosers in combat.

Epsilon was relieved as he saw Jaden coming up the street. He had chosen to put in an appearance, now Epsilon had to make his persuasion count. "So you came. My designation is Sub-Commander Epsilon. It's good to see you made it, Courier."

"I wish I could say the same," Jaden replied coldly. "I don't usually deal with murdering cyborgs, even if they look like kids!"

"Understandable you'd feel that way," Epsilon didn't react to the taunt about his apparent age. "The Imperator isn't the best advert for our race with his slaughter."

Jaden raised his eyebrows at that. "And you are when you're infecting people with your nanites?"

"Hear me out before you do anything rash," Epsilon asked. "I might be the only chance you have to end this conflict as bloodlessly as possible."

"How's that? If you're looking for surrender, forget it," Jaden warned.

"No it's not like that. The simple truth is I've broken away from the Imperator and I need your help..."

"You infect and kidnap my sister and now you're asking for _help_?!" Ashley was incredulous.

"Ah, I see the resemblance. She was just as feisty when we released her from the cryo pod."

Ashley's heart was in her mouth when she heard that. "Oh god...you mean the nanites have...?"

"Don't stress yourself; you'll blow a head gasket. She's fine and you don't need to take my word for it either." Epsilon went across to the Vertibird and opened the passenger ramp. "Ask her yourself."

Jaden and Ashley were left shocked as a perfectly healthy and seemingly unchanged Kelly emerged from the Vertibird followed quickly by Cody.

"Good to see you sis," Kelly broke the silence first.

"I reprogrammed the nanites," Epsilon pre-empted the question. "They've only had basic upgrades to their skeletons and optics."

"Why? What was this supposed to prove?" Jaden asked as Ashley ran to Kelly and embraced her.

"That not all cyborgs are your enemies. Some of us still have human hearts and want no part of the Imperator's new order."

"Do you expect us to believe that on your say so alone?" For the second time Jaden was interrupted, this time by Leon who came out of stealth mode and took Epsilon aback. "They might be convinced but I'm certainly not!"

"Omega...no wonder you were able to see through Omicron's deception," Epsilon had not planned for this.

"Actually Jaden figured that out on his own," Leon said. "And as I keep telling your kind my name's Leon not Omega!"

"Forgive me but I wasn't prepared to face the one who deleted my father," Epsilon sounded almost human and his organic face was a mix of regret and hatred, albeit contained.

"Alpha's son," Leon realised as he studied Epsilon's face a little closer. "I should have seen that sooner."

"We're alike in more ways than either of us want. Both of us upgraded without any choice in the matter...and both of us were spared the mental side of the upgrade. "

Leon realised what he was saying. "So your dad didn't download Vault-Tec's programming into you when he processed you into a cyborg?"

"No, he did it before he became Alpha," Epsilon was almost choking on the words and Leon couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. "My mind is still human even though the rest of me isn't. I'm just like you Lone Wanderer and so is everyone that's following me."

"And Delta doesn't know that?"

Epsilon shook his head no. "He never checked. That's how I've been able to hide in plain sight, so to speak, at his side all this time."

"So what's changed?" Jaden pushed his way back into the conversation.

"The fact that I miscalculated and I now have more people to protect than I planned on," Epsilon admitted. "I'm serious about needing your help. Alone I can't defeat the Imperator and his forces anymore than you are likely to."

"What makes you so sure of that? We've destroyed one of your Liberty Prime copies already," Jaden revealed.

Epsilon was surprised. "Impressive. Unfortunately that's not all the Imperator has at his disposal. He has a lot more weapons you don't know about yet...including nuclear warheads. He have no hesitation using them if you prove too much trouble for him."

"I've no doubt of that. Alright if you're serious come back with us to the Big Empty. You can tell us everything there." Jaden looked over at Leon who nodded back in agreement. The cyborgs having live nukes was a real game changer.

"Agreed. Tau, take the Vertibird and head back to the Hub. Tell our new friends we've got an alliance, well a provisional one anyway."

"New friends?" Leon asked.

"I'll explain at the Empty. You might not like what you hear..."

**Sky Carrier**

"You were WHAT?" Delta roared as he replied to Omicron's latest battle update.

"Attacked by our own kind," Omicron confirmed. "They came from the south east, the site of those missile impacts. I don't understand how but it seems likely Epsilon's work has failed. He managed to upgrade the Hub but couldn't control the new cyborgs he created. He may be deleted and lost to us."

"Possibly," Delta replied coolly. There was an alternative explanation and not one that he liked. Still that was to be investigated later, right now there was other business at hand. "Keep advancing to the north for now. We'll catch up with you soon."

He disconnected and turned to Sigma who hit the red button to signal the death gun crews back to their stations again.

"Transfer fire command to my console," Delta ordered as his face regained a smile.

"Complying. Firing system connected to console. Carrier is in range of target and locked on."

"This is a proud moment for us all," Delta said. "It's hard to think we were rendered almost extinct three years ago and now? Now we consign one of the old world relics to its proper place: the dustbin of history!"

With that he pressed the firing trigger and sent a golden beam of destruction straight into what had been the NCR congress building and reduced it to flaming rubble. Two more shots disposed of President Kimball's residence and offices.

"Switch control back to the firing station Sigma," Delta ordered. "Then tell them to resume firing. Wipe this pathetic city from existence."

"Gladly."

Delta felt a wave of satisfaction as he watched Shady Sands become ruins and then dust. Whatever else happened the Lone Wanderer and the Courier had failed to prevent the downfall of the NCR. Now it would be a full on fight between his forces and theirs and it was something he was looking forward to no end...


	19. Plans of desperation

I'm somehow keeping to my schedule despite eaglescorch throwing an ace new game (Far Cry 3) my way. Only a few more parts to go with this one and it's almost time for another big battle.

The PBG: Glad you like it. Read Steel Vengeance too if you want to learn more of the cyborgs and their background. It'll fill in the gaps for you.

SincerelyYoursJHB: Thanks. Glad I'm still pulling in new fans.

ejthepinoy: In truth it may well be both. I'm still working on that but Epsilon is about to play a bigger part.

Cold secrets: If you liked those surprises I've still got more coming up!

Oddliver: In truth Malak was one of the villains I used as a base when I came up with Delta; he was one of the nastiest and malevolent game villains around for causing mass destruction.

Eaglescorch: No not quite. The Legion is entering the war but they weren't what Epsilon meant. I'll let him (partly) explain himself in the fic.

**NCR-Nevada border**

Another army was fast approaching the NCR border and, ironically, in exactly the same place that Gamma and his force had crossed. This time it was all human, wearing red and Vulpes Inculta was at its head along with Varo and Centurion Tigellinus.

"The legions are exhausted, Legate," Varo said with worry. "They've been on the march for 3 days straight."

"Which is why we rest here now," Vulpes smirked. "The legions need rest, as you rightly said, and we need time to wait for the Courier's response anyway."

"Did the message get through then?"

"It got through; it's just a matter of time before the Courier reads it. It's also just a matter of time before the profligates' defeat," Vulpes grinned like a wolf. His Machiavellian mind had been working overtime since the cyborg invasion began.

At first he'd been in disbelief but that didn't last as confirmation started coming in from every single agent he had. Both he and Lucius weren't sure what to do about it all. Many of their officers, still angry with the NCR after their second defeat at Hoover Dam, had simply advised them to do nothing at all. Why do anything to help the hated profligates after all?

Vulpes could see and sympathise with their logic but found it short sighted on two grounds. Firstly it was obvious the cyborgs weren't going to be the Legion's friends from the reports he kept receiving, they were just as human and organic as the NCR, so it didn't take much to figure out what was going to happen and who would be the next target when the NCR fell.

Secondly this was potentially another golden opportunity for the Legion. If they could wait long enough until the profligates fell and then step in against the cyborgs then the Legion could be the one flying high when all was said and done. Jaden Storm and his allies were the only things keeping the NCR afloat and even he was taking some losses. With the NCR on its last legs, unable to fight and with Legion troops on its own territory it wouldn't be hard to force NCR surrender after the final battle. They might even take the Courier alive; that would certainly be a coup.

"You're right on both points Legate but I still have some concerns," 40 year old Tigellinus, the new leader of the Praetorian Guard, never minced words. "First can we defeat these cyborgs at all? From what you've told us they are neither weak nor spineless unlike the profligates and they have weapons that outmatch us. The other thing is using Jaden Storm as our middleman between us and the profligates. I know he's just one man but given what occurred last time we clashed..."

"Duly noted," Vulpes said. "Jaden Storm is a dangerous element, certainly, but he's not unbeatable. He's out of his own country so those robots of his will be of no use to him. I know he's deployed other weapons but they should also be thinned in number by the end of this war. As for handling the cyborgs I have faith in our legions. This is not the first heavily armed enemy we've had to deal with as you should know from our eastern campaigns."

Tigellinus smirked along with Vulpes at that. Vulpes was referring to an old campaign that the Legion had fought many years ago against the Enclave. This group had been part of Autumn's eastbound force fleeing their earlier defeat at the hands of the NCR and Brotherhood. Autumn had pressed on east but this group had turned back westward to make another attempt on California from the south. Unfortunately for them this had taken them straight through the heart of Legion territory where they would make the same mistake that the NCR would later make: underestimating the Legion. To add to the Enclave problems most of their troops, due to their high tech weaponry, were arrogant and overconfident thinking they would easily break the wasteland savages they thought their opponents were.

Early on the Enclave had the upper hand as they invaded by surprise and easily slaughtered hundreds of legionaries in the first few engagements. But that was where the first mistake was made as the Enclave stopped advancing. Thinking they had the advantage and they'd broken their opponents' spirit, they set up camp and their commander, who unfortunately happened to be a woman, started putting out orders to surrender to the authority of the American government on the radio...big mistake.

Being taunted by an arrogant technology reliant force led by a woman sent the Legion into pure frenzy. Instead of surrender the Enclave was swamped by thousands of bloodthirsty legionaries and their base was overrun. Despite taking hundreds more casualties the Legion would not be broken and the few survivors, including the commander, would soon wish they hadn't. The Legion nailed them all to the walls of the own camp whilst daubing the Enclave flag in blood and then pissing on it in a show of contempt.

"Trust me centurion," Vulpes said. "We have the edge this time. We just have to ensure that the profligates and Jaden's forces take the worst of the fighting and then we will force surrender out of all of them by the end."

Varo sneered. "A lot of our men will be happy about that when they start the victory celebration. I'm sure Jaden will have a lot of private parties...once he's collared and leashed of course!"

**The Sink- Big Empty**

"So you were mentioning something we weren't going to like?" Jaden was straight down to business as he, Leon and Epsilon entered the control room.

Epsilon looked very uncomfortable. "Yes. My plan didn't go as I'd have liked. The idea was a cyber nanite tipped missile into one of the NCR's settlements. Nanites that I personally altered on purpose. Instead of being rendered secondary drones the new cyborgs would keep all of their old memories, personality and humanity. That way Tau and I could cut loose and..."

"...Start another cyborg civilisation away from Delta and preferably without him ever knowing it," Leon finished. "Clever."

"Couldn't you have just done that with some of the cyborgs you already had?" Jaden asked. "You inflicted this on innocent people!"

"No he couldn't," Leon realised. "Most of them were drones."

Epsilon backed him up. "And as drones that's the way they stay and all of them are fully loyal to the Imperator. That's what those people would have been if I hadn't altered the nanites."

"You could have altered them so they didn't do anything at all!" Jaden argued. "You could have left them as human and..."

"Yeah he could have Jaden but he didn't want to did he?" Leon gave Epsilon a knowing look and Epsilon shrank under his gaze. "He didn't want them as drones but he wanted them upgraded."

"I did it to fulfil my father's dream," Epsilon explained as his courage returned. "Humans live such a short lifespan; they don't live long enough. As a result you see the same mistakes repeated again and again throughout history. My father lived through America's fall and he was involved with some of it. He wanted to make a better future for me... but then he became Alpha and was deleted."

Leon shrugged. "We know all that. Your point is?"

"My point is the future could be you and me, Lone Wanderer. Us and others like us! Jaden here is another example," Epsilon was speaking with passion now. "Cyborgs without Vault-Tec's programs and the Imperator's poisonous influence. We still have our souls, we have at least double the human lifespan; we have time to learn from mistakes and can make sure they aren't repeated."

"And to make sure you aren't alone in life, am I right?" Leon asked.

"That too," Epsilon admitted. "But then you try living amongst drones and other cyborgs whose passion is genocide and see how pure you stay!"

"I'm not judging," Leon replied evenly. "I've fought Delta and his kind before so you're preaching to the choir; I know exactly what their social graces are like. Amazing you kept your sanity at all."

Jaden, however, wasn't through. "But still...to force this on them. It's just not..."

Epsilon nodded. "I know where you're coming from Jaden after what the Think Tank brains did to you. I'm not happy with the way things have gone either but I considered this the best option. Would it offend you if I said that _you _were the one of 2 people who inspired me to do this?"

"Me? What did I do to cause this?" Jaden was lost.

"How about saving countless lives from Ulysses, pushing the Legion away from Hoover Dam, then the NCR as well, you establish a safe independent New Vegas and then you destroy the Patriots on top of that," Leon smiled. "More like what _didn't _you do?"

"Exactly," Epsilon agreed. "You saw the reality of the Mojave and, unlike most, you acted on it. You saw the flaws in both the NCR and the Legion. Old world corruption or ancient world slavery and barbarity. Neither was a worthy cause to lead the Mojave into the future. You took advantage of their blood feuding to expel them all. Now I'm doing much the same; I chose not to follow the Imperator and his murderous ways. I need to reform the cyborg race so it stands for something other than genocide but to do that I have to start over with new cyborgs that can think for themselves; ones that are free of the past."

"So what's gone wrong with your plan?" Leon asked.

"The Imperator. He fired 2 nanite warheads instead of just one and he transformed the Hub and Junktown. There are nearly 2000 sentient cyborgs as a result and I have no hope of protecting them all or keeping this a secret for much longer, especially since we just intervened to protect an NCR refugee convoy."

"But they're just basic cyborgs, right? Delta's still got the devastators and most of the weapons?" Leon could see where this was going.

"Yes. Now you see why we wanted this alliance in the first place, unless we fight together neither of us can match the Imperator's firepower."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Leon muttered. This alliance wasn't likely to do much for them militarily. Most of Epsilon's cyborgs would be terrified civilians, not much against devastator, Arachnotron and primary commander cyborgs.

"How the hell did you transform 2000 people without mass hysteria?" Jaden couldn't help asking.

"With great difficulty. Fortunately the warheads carried a mix of nanites and knockout gas, subdued them long enough for us to get to them and...be prepared for when they awoke."

"I bet that was a bag of laughs," Leon snorted. He remembered the shock and anguish he'd felt when he'd first awoken as a cyborg. It wasn't something he'd have wished on anyone.

"It tested my persuasive skills," Epsilon admitted. "But the important thing is that I did it. You'll have at least a few hundred, if not more, who will fight alongside you."

Jaden was far from liking this situation but he knew there wasn't much he could do; it was what he was stuck with. "Fine. You've got an alliance, for now anyway."

"Well, I have one battle plan you might want to consider," Epsilon continued. "It may make the difference between victory and defeat. I believe the classic words for it are 'Trojan Horse'? Plus I have another proposal for you for after the war..."

**Lucky 38 penthouse-one hour later**

Due to the audacity of Epsilon's alliance and battle plan Jaden thought it necessary to head back to Vegas for a quick meeting with his friends and militia leaders before committing to it fully. The battle plan itself was simple. Epsilon had at his disposal a single sky fighter, the same one that Tau had used to meet up with him from the carrier. Using the fighter a very small team could slip onto the carrier undetected and do as much damage as possible or even bring it down.

"So what do you all think?" Jaden asked as he finished explaining.

"I think it's nuts!" Cass was typically blunt.

"It could work," Boone reasoned. "I don't think they'll be expecting it."

"Well of course they won't be expecting it! It's suicide!" Veronica worried.

"Epsilon doesn't think so," Jaden reasoned. "According to him the carrier's over half empty. A lot of them are fighting on the ground which is the main problem. While we're doing this they'll still be marching on what's left of the NCR. I take it you heard about Shady Sands."

Everyone nodded grimly. The cyborg army had now reformed, along with the carrier and the 2 Liberator robots, and was now marching northwest on New Reno and Vault City.

"If we don't do something soon there won't be anything left of the NCR. There might not be enough of it left to survive as a country anyway," Jaden surmised. "So we can't wait for that to happen. We've got to take the initiative now while we still can."

"Go all in so to speak, eh Boss?" Riker grinned.

"But that's the problem," Layla pitched in. "Can you do this in time before the cyborg force reaches the north? What's the projection there?"

"That's the only good part about this, the carrier and cyborg army's pretty slow moving. It's going to take them at least a day to get to the New Reno border and then another one to get to New Reno itself. That gives us enough time to use this plan."

"Your chances would be better if Delta was distracted by another battle at the same time you go in," Boone reasoned. "But the problem is we'd need a lot of fresh troops for that battle and..."

They all knew what he was hesitating in saying: where were they going to find those fresh troops? Not from the NCR that was for sure. Everything they had left was on the field already and in pretty bad shape. The Brotherhood and the New Vegas militia were ready to go but there weren't enough to make up the numbers.

"We've got a partial solution for that," Jaden revealed as he produced a letter. "I received this message by Mojave Express from our eastern neighbours."

"The Legion?" Chelsea blurted out. "They're not thinking of getting involved with this are they?"

"Yes they are. In fact they're offering to help directly. They've taken several legions on a long march north and they're now waiting on the NCR border with Nevada. Vulpes Inculta himself is leading them."

"Oh those fucking bastards!" Cass was livid. "They must have known about the cyborgs for god knows how long and _now _they offer to help? Yeah right!"

Jaden nodded in agreement. "Yeah it's not hard to see what their game plan is once the war's finished but, together with Epsilon, we've got a way to get around that as well."

"You do?" Blaine was amazed as was everyone else. "What is it?"

Jaden didn't answer immediately. His face had grown a very serious look. "A question first: how much do you trust me?"

Boone was puzzled. "What sort of a question is...?" But then it hit him; there'd only been one other time that Jaden had asked that question and he remembered it as if it were yesterday...

**Flashback- Lucky 38 just before the Battle of Hoover Dam**

"You're going to do _WHAT_?" Cass couldn't believe what Jaden had in mind for the upcoming battle though the others were less surprised.

Jaden shrugged. "Just what I said. I'm going to assist the NCR in driving the Legion off Hoover Dam and then I'm going to drive the NCR out as well. All I have to do get the secondary power station online and then the one in Hoover Dam and we're set..."

"But you're turning on the NCR just like that after all this time helping them? What's changed?" Cass was confused.

"I've changed, Cass. I used to think the NCR was the best bet for the Mojave but now? They're not the great saviours they make themselves out to be."

As Jaden's closest friend Boone knew of the incident in the Divide and that Ulysses had made a profound impact on Jaden, even more so than Bitter Springs. He also knew that most would have tried for some sort of direct revenge after what they'd discovered together at Bitter Springs and he admired Jaden for not going that route. But he could say with absolute certainty that he wasn't going to be able to talk Jaden out of this.

"This isn't just about Bitter Springs is it Jaden? You've got some bigger reasons in mind," Boone could read Jaden's expression well.

"That's part of it but not all of it. For now let's just say I had an awakening at the Divide and realised that neither the Legion nor the NCR are any solution for the Mojave. Both just want to use it for whatever they can get and move on with their private war. For me the Legion is just a bunch of Raiders and slavers in old fancy dress and an old language fetish that'd drag us back to the dark ages. The NCR's a hollow echo of the old American set-up that they copied too well, including the corruption, it was a nice idea to begin with but it lost its way. It got too many 'first families' like the Van Graffs and the Gundersons too quickly. The victory against the Brotherhood didn't exactly help either."

Cass suddenly didn't look so sure of herself and Boone was listening thoughtfully as they knew he spoke a lot of truth. The NCR had grown too fast and too quickly with no restraint or check on its ambitions. That was partly why the Brotherhood war had occurred though it didn't provide an excuse for the Brotherhood's sneak attack on the NCR. The NCR victory had been deserved but it had the unfortunate side effect of making the NCR more than a little arrogant and thinking it was invincible; something that had lingered on for a long time until life gave them a harsh slap of reality in the brutal form of the Legion. Even that hadn't cured the NCR's attitude problem entirely.

"There are two other things. Everywhere I've gone in the Mojave I've heard the same thing again and again. 'The NCR has some good folk in it but...' If I got a hundred caps for every time I heard that line I'd be rich by now. I've heard it in Goodsprings, Novac, Jacobstown, you name it. Most wastelanders just don't trust the NCR anymore; they're afraid it's becoming another Enclave. Rolling over people, taking what it wants, where it wants from whoever it wants and fuck the consequences. Given its behaviour the last few years do you think they're so far wrong?"

"No," Boone admitted. "I don't think they are. I used to think they were even when I was guarding Novac, but now that I've been across the Mojave, seen what I've seen and remembered what I have, I'm not so sure of the NCR myself anymore."

Jaden still wasn't done. "The last reason is personal; simply the fact that I don't betray friends. Colonel Icebitch can order me all she wants; I won't destroy the Brotherhood just because of her old vendetta or the NCR's greed. Well if anything she forced me to make a choice and I have. I've chosen to side with the Brotherhood, the Boomers, the three Families and all the rest of the people of Vegas. I'd like you all to stand beside me but I understand if some of you won't. I suppose the question is...how much do you trust me?"

Raul answered first. "Speaking for myself Boss? All the way. You freed me from that hellhole on Black Mountain and I'd follow you through the bowels of hell."

"Whatever you decide I'm with you dear," Lily assured him.

"That goes for me too," Veronica was touched. "I know the Brotherhood isn't easy to get on with but what you've done means a lot Jaden. You've given us a chance and that's more than we get usually."

Arcade was next. "I'm all for it too. You got rid of House's tyranny and I'd follow you for that alone. I don't know what kind of future you've got planned but I think it'll be much better around here with you in charge than the NCR or the Legion. Neither's a worthy cause from where I'm standing."

Cass and Boone had been quietly talking with each other as the rest spoke their peace. Now the attention came to them.

"What's the battle plan for Hoover Dam, Jaden?" Boone finally asked. "Are we going to wipe both sides out?"

"Not if we can help it. We hit the Legion with everything we've got; Securitrons, Boomers, Brotherhood, everything. Then once they're out we order the NCR to withdraw. I don't want to have to fight them unless I'm forced to."

"But what if they won't?" Cass asked.

"I think they will," Jaden reasoned. "They'll realise what'll happen if they don't. They already know what the Securitrons can do and I think they'll get they can't stand up to 1000 or so. I'm looking to send the NCR army home not to wipe it out. If Oliver's stupid enough to try and fight I'll make an example of him and his guards but no one else. Does that make this better for you?"

"Yes it does and we're with you," Jaden's sincerity had won Cass over. "I can't disagree with a lot of what you said and after what the Van Graffs were allowed to get away with...yeah fuck it I say we give Shady Sands a kick up its complacent ass!"

Boone nodded his agreement. "I swore an oath with you Jaden and this doesn't alter that. I'm sick and tired of Oliver's waiting and seeing and green soldier kids dying because of it."

"Then it's agreed," Jaden concluded. "We liberate New Vegas altogether."

As Jaden and the others left Cass turned to Boone with half a smile on her face. "You were never going to leave were you?"

"Could you?" Boone shot back.

"No, I couldn't. Without him I'd still be back on the border drinking myself through the floor. Funny thing is I thought Jaden was just trying to worm his way into my pants when we first met. But he's a real friend with a big heart."

"Yes he is. It takes a lot of character to suffer what he has and not lash out at the NCR."

"That's what I was worrying about," Cass admitted. "Do you think he still might at the dam?"

Boone shook his head. "Not his style. He's out to hurt only two things: the Legion and the NCR leadership. The Legion he'll deal with the old fashioned way and if things go to plan he'll take his revenge on the NCR leaders without spilling any blood...when they're forced to retreat with their tails between their legs.

"Yes, it's perfect!" Cass saw instantly what he meant. Oliver and Kimball had sunk nearly all their resources and credibility into securing Vegas. Getting unceremoniously kicked out would really knock the ground out from under their feet.

"Vegas gets its independence and its security and Jaden gets clean revenge for his parents," Boone said in approval. "He doesn't harm the NCR mortally but he denies them this territory."

"After all the mistakes they made? They sure as hell don't deserve to annex this place," Cass said bitterly.

Boone could not have agreed more. The NCR had dithered too long, wasted too many lives and made too many errors; one of which was unforgivable. He knew that he probably wouldn't be returning to the NCR after siding against them with Jaden but, if that's what it took to bring a little humility back to the country he'd once served, so be it.

**Lucky 38 penthouse**

"WHAT?!"

Boone was jerked back to the present by Veronica's reaction to Jaden's new plan. He reengaged his brain and caught up with current events and couldn't stop his mouth from falling open.

"Is Epsilon serious about this?" he finally managed to ask.

"I'd say deadly," Jaden replied without a trace of humour.

"He wasn't kidding when he said Jaden inspired him," Leon added. "And if we want his help that's his price and it's not negotiable."

"I don't like this one Jaden. This is too far even for me," Cass said forcefully. "How do you think Ashley and her family's going to take this?"

"You think that matters if the alternative is they're cyborg drones or Legion slaves?" Jaden shot back. "I don't know about you but being a mindless lump of metal or a Legion officer's sex toy is not how I saw my future. Besides the NCR's all but finished anyway; Shady Sands and most of the south is conquered and in ruins. It's up to us to protect what's left and keep the Latin speaking throwbacks out. Does anyone else have another idea?"

"What it boils down to really is who do we trust to keep his word more at the end of things: Epsilon or this Vulpes and his Legion?" Leon asked pointedly. "From what you told me about the Legion I know which I'd choose."

Jaden nodded. "You don't have to convince me Leon. Contact Epsilon again and tell him we accept his terms in full and get a message out to Vulpes on the border saying his help is welcome. Unless anyone has any alternative to offer?"

No one had. It was safe to say nobody was entirely comfortable with the plan but circumstances had forced it. There was no other obvious way of destroying Delta and thwarting Vulpes' deceit all at once. Once again Jaden Storm was poised to lay his cards on the table of regional politics in his own way and, if he succeeded, the west coast would never be the same again...


	20. Plan before the storm

Oh man, sorry it's been so long guys. Life's been a little rough lately for me, especially at work. Some good news for you though: I'm turning all attention back to this fic since the other one seems to have tanked for the moment. Hopefully I'll have the next part out next week.

Spartan A-312: I'll be working more on this from now on and the next part should come faster (hopefully)!

Cold secrets: Glad to see I'm keeping my form. I'm not quite done with the twists yet either :).

SincerelyYoursJHB: Thanks. It might be a part or two yet before the end so I hope you can hang on.

Oddliver: I've not been at my best either lately but I'm not giving up!

eaglescorch: I wouldn't be so sure about that, you might be surprised. :)

**Vault 3**

Thanks to the intervention of Epsilon's cyborgs the refugee convoy had made it all the way to Vegas territory with no further problems. Once there they'd been quickly moved across the border and escorted by Securitrons all the way to Vault 3 and Vault 19. It was the only spare accommodation and shelter Jaden had to offer. Just giving the refugees that had caused him trouble with the cabinet after what had happened to the Bitter Springs caravan but Jaden had managed to bring them around. They were out of the way of most New Vegas citizens, there wasn't much chance of clashes like they'd had in Freeside and they were being as humanitarian as they could. This was something that would paint New Vegas in a good light and would go down well politically.

Chief Koenig and Senator Hanlon were chafing to get back to the front lines with their Ranger troops and the Boomers were obliging in giving them airlift. Now that their people had safe haven the Rangers were in the mood to hit back hard.

**Lucky 38**

"So sis, have you got close to Jaden yet?" Kelly teased Ashley as they rested in the suite they'd been given.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ashley retorted angrily. She knew very well what her sister was getting at but didn't want to encourage her.

"What else? I know you've got the hots for him," Kelly sniggered. "I've seen you looking at him that way more than a few times."

_Damn it! _Ashley had forgotten how observant her sister could be. Worse yet Ashley knew Kelly might not be so far wrong. Jaden had stirred up feelings she didn't even know she had and wasn't sure she wanted. He was a rival to the NCR now after all.

"Why are you so keen to know?" Ashley asked. "Or is this just 'annoy your big sister day'?"

"No Ash," Kelly sighed."Just wanted to know that's all. If you're not I thought I might try for him."

"What?!"

"Why so surprised? He's great looking, strong, got a whole country and saved my life once. What's not to like? I just wanted to check if you wanted him first."

Ashley, for once, wasn't sure what she wanted to say. She was caught between loyalty to her broken country and her newfound feelings for Jaden. She couldn't help blushing as she remembered watching him duel Leon.

"If you need more time that's ok, sis," Kelly reassured her. "I won't try and steal him from under you. But remember there are other girls that might. I'll see you later; I'm going to see how Cody and Champ are doing."

Ashley muttered a curse under her breath. She hated it when Kelly scored a point like that. But she also knew it wouldn't do any good to lie to herself. Like it or not, she had halfway fallen for Jaden. Question was what would she do about it?

**SE of New Reno-NCR front line**

Barely able to believe the update over the radio he'd just received Arcade headed over to the main command post with Raul to where the Colonels were meeting with newly arrived Senator Hanlon and Chief Koenig.

"Good news and bad news," Arcade began. "The good news is Jaden's negotiated some reinforcements for us."

"And the bad?" Hanlon didn't like Arcade's expression at all.

"The bad news is they're coming from across the Colorado and they've got Vulpes Inculta at the head of them!"

"The Legion?!"

"Oh shit..."

Arcade waited until the predictable sentiments had died down. "They'll be here in just over an hour according to Jaden."

"What the hell is he thinking?!" Moore snapped. "Inviting Legion into our borders!"

Both Raul and Arcade weren't impressed at all by Moore's tirade.

"I think he said 'beggars can't be choosers'," Raul replied coolly.

"Not least stupid beggars that ignored his advice in the first place and wasted most of their army in a kamikaze frontal attack which he said wouldn't work," Arcade was just as frigid.

Moore had to bite down on an angry retort. She knew they had a point.

"For what it's worth I don't want them here anymore than you do," Arcade went on. "But they're all we've got to turn to. The Great Kahns have left for new territory, the Brotherhood is staying inside Lost Hills except for the Mojave chapter and Jaden's now rallying the militia and the Boomers to come out here. Thanks to your mistakes they're the only things going right now whether anyone likes it or not. They'll be here soon so we'd better get ready to receive them, make sure the Aces and your men don't end this alliance before it begins."

"First killer cyborgs invade, we lose half the country and now the Legion's coming in," Dunning sighed. "Can this day get any worse?"

"I'd be careful what you wish for, Colonel," Hanlon warned. "Wishing will make it so."

"And the devil of it is Jaden was right," Koenig admitted. "I was furious when I heard Kimball ignored my advice and sent our army in anyway despite my advice against."

"But to trust the Legion and someone like Vulpes..." Moore was almost physically ill knowing what he had done to Nipton and Camp Searchlight.

"The Courier's no fool," Hanlon assured her. "He knows what that man is capable of. We can only hope he's prepared for that. There's not that much we can do about it now, the ball is out of our court."

**SE of Cold River ruins**

The 2 New Vegas Vertibirds had been busy that day. No sooner had they finished ferrying Hanlon, Koenig and all the Rangers when they were called back again. Now they were making a clandestine landing in the north of the NCR with new passengers and cargo; namely Epsilon, Tau and several other human cyborgs.

"Spread out," Epsilon ordered. "And make sure no one sees us. I know this area's largely abandoned but we can't afford to be detected."

"Is this really going to work?" One of his cyborg followers asked as they started unpacking the equipment.

"I've no idea how this will play out," Epsilon replied bluntly. "We are dependent on Jaden, Leon and a lot of other factors."

"Especially that Leon," another added fearfully. "Did you see how he looked at us?"

"The main reason for that is sitting in that carrier," Epsilon retorted. "Right now he has some solid reasons to hate us and it is up to us to prove him wrong. Now let's get to work. We need these antennas up and fast."

"The Vertibirds are on their way back to Vegas and they recovered the vehicle they were looking for," Tau informed him.

"Good. That gives us just an hour so get moving! We don't have long."

**NCR front line**

It was a good thing Arcade had prepared everyone for the worst. The presence of the Legion troops was bad enough for morale and the legionaries' behaviour didn't improve things any. Ever since they'd arrived the NCR had been sneered at, derided and insulted. It had taken all the efforts of both sides' leaders to keep them from each others' throats.

Hanlon knew it would turn out like this and had ordered all NCR troops to stay as far apart from the Legion as humanly possible. The worst part for him had to have been his meeting with Vulpes Inculta Trying to keep things peaceful proved a real challenge.

"Do you really think we'd be here if our Frumentarii had proved the threat wasn't so desperate?" Vulpes had said. "We'd never be helping you profligates otherwise!"

"Of that I have no doubt," Hanlon replied coolly. "I'd prefer not to be this close to you either. But let's at least try and keep things civil until this battle is over."

"Fine. But don't expect it to stay that way for long after," Vulpes warned.

"Believe me I never did," Hanlon retorted. He was glad for the news of the Vertibirds approaching from the east as it was a welcome distraction. The 2 Vertibirds contained Jaden, Leon and the rest of their teams in full battle gear.

"So that's the great Caesar's Legion?" Leon asked as he got off the Vertibird. He was somewhat impressed by the degree they'd copied the old Roman uniforms.

"That's them," Jaden replied. "Don't get too trusting of them."

"Not likely," Leon assured him. "Raiders and Slavers are still Raiders and Slavers no matter what fancy dress they've got on."

"Good to see you back Jaden," Hanlon greeted them. "I trust you heard about Shady Sands?"

"Yes I did. I've got a plan but we haven't much time. Get every commander into the command tent quickly. We've got a lot to get through and not very long to do it."

**Sky Carrier**

By now the cyborgs had unified into one strong force. Gamma's group had been folded into the main army of Omicron's and they were marching north again behind the Liberation robots and with the carrier overhead. The sky fighters were out hunting down loose stragglers and anything that might pose a threat to the group.

All in all this was a strong position to be in so Sigma and Iota were somewhat confused by Delta's lack of enthusiasm especially since they'd just knocked down the NCR capital with little losses.

"Why so concerned, Imperator?" Sigma finally asked. "They'll need a miracle to stop us now even if the Courier and Omega are present on the field."

"As things stand, yes," Delta replied. "But I know better than to declare victory yet. Until those two are dealt with we have to maintain high alert."

"What can two men possibly do to oppose an entire army, Imperator?" Sigma wasn't convinced.

Delta and Iota exchanged a knowing look before Iota answered. "If you'd been with us at Vault 66, Sigma, you'd never have asked that question."

"True. I once thought as you did and yet Omega brought us down," Delta chafed. "The thought of him here combined with Jaden Storm, the unifier of New Vegas, is not something I relish. Not only that, there is the matter of Epsilon's disappearance and the renegade cyborgs that attacked Omicron's group. I like that even less."

Sigma's face took on a concerned look as his terminal gave him an update. "We've just received a report from our scout probes. Caesar's Legion has become involved; several thousand of their men have crossed the border."

"I never thought they'd join forces with the NCR," Iota was surprised.

"Neither did I. I sense the Courier behind this as well," Delta growled.

"So what? If the Liberators don't destroy them the sky fighters or this carrier will," Sigma had regained his confidence. "They've nothing to counter any of those."

"That we know of," Delta retorted. "Just to be sure deploy the Arachnotrons and _all_ our heavy weapons."

Sigma was surprised by that order but didn't show it. That would mean they were throwing everything they had into the next engagement and wouldn't have any surprises left except what was back at their main base in the Nevada desert. That meant the upcoming battle could decide the fate of this region. He could hardly wait...

**NCR front line**

"So you've come up with a plan?" Hsu finally got the courage to ask the question that was on everyone's mind.

Jaden exhaled heavily. They had come up with a battle plan but it certainly wasn't one that he was personally keen on. Leon wasn't either nor was any of his team come to that. They'd expected the NCR to be in much better shape and still fighting fit when they'd first come up with this plan not on its last legs. Having gone over things with Epsilon, however, no one had any alternative.

"Yeah we have. It's high risk and can't withstand even the smallest of failures but we've nothing else," Jaden admitted. "The cyborgs outclass us and outgun us right now. We've got to take some of their capabilities away or we won't stand a chance on the battlefield."

"So how do we do that?" Dunning asked pointedly. "We couldn't take down one of those robots and that was with double the numbers we now have. From what we've heard there's two more of those things advancing with their army and that's not taking their air power into account."

"There's only one way," Jaden admitted. "We've got to get a strike team onto the carrier itself."

A flurry of objections flew at Jaden. How were they going to breach the carrier without getting detected and blasted out of the air? Could they even do it in time before the army overran their positions or before the carrier got into blasting range? What were the chances of the team succeeding?

"I have got a way in!" Jaden shouted them all down. "But it won't be easy up there and there's a better than good chance the team will fail right now. For this to have a chance the cyborgs need to be distracted...and the only way I can see that happening is to force another battle."

"You want us to hold and engage here? With the Legion at our backs?" Moore was still chafing about the situation.

"We'll try not to kill you from force of habit, profligate wench!" Varo sneered contemptuously at Moore.

"Enough," Vulpes chided him. "This is not the time."

Jaden gave Vulpes a nod of approval before continuing. "Yes, that's exactly what we have to do. Unless that carrier's undermanned the infiltration team will never succeed. "

"Maybe but neither will our troops unless something's done about those robots and their air support," Dunning pointed out.

"True," Jaden conceded. "But if Delta's running to form he'll use the Liberation robots first and I've got a surprise for them. I'd hoped to keep it a secret but if we want to win it's not an option anymore. You'll know it when you see it, trust me on that."

"You're not telling us what it is?" Vulpes asked.

"You'd never believe me unless you saw it," Jaden answered flatly.

"It sounds...incredibly shaky Jaden," Koenig wasn't convinced.

"I know! I'm not happy with things either but unless we stop them here they'll push through into New Reno and Vault City and then New Vegas and Legion territory. If we're going to save anything of the NCR we have to make our stand here."

"Just one more thing Jaden, who's going on this infiltration?" Hanlon had to ask. "It sounds like a one way suicide mission."

"I will," Jaden didn't even flinch. "And I'm only taking one other."

A wave of shock ran through the command tent. Jaden's companions were aghast. Even the men of the Legion were taken aback by this.

"And who's going to be insane enough to volunteer for that?" Moore asked with some sarcasm.

A smirking Leon walked up to Jaden's side. "That would be me. Delta's ass is three years overdue and it's mine!"

**Mothership Zeta**

"All engines online. Shields and weapons fully operational," Elliott finished his systems check. "I just hope Leon knows what he's doing."

"I think he does," Sally reassured him. "He's never led us wrong up to now."

"Then let's hope today isn't the first time. We don't know if and how long our shields will stand up to a death beam and a squadron of fighters all at once."

"Well look at it this way; it's up to us to make sure that it does! Leon never let us down and I'm not letting him down!"

Elliott couldn't help but smile at Sally's seemingly endless optimism. He knew they'd probably need every atom of it when they engaged the carrier to take the pressure off the frontline. This would be the biggest battle any of them had been in.

**Secret rendezvous point-east of NCR frontline**

Leon and Jaden had wasted no time in leaving the NCR camp after revealing their plan. Neither had been comfortable there anyway and they didn't have time to waste in bickering anymore. They'd finished up telling them they were going ahead and attacking the carrier anyway even if the NCR and the Legion wouldn't fight.

"You were right back there Jaden," Leon had said as they rode away by Vertibird.

"About what?"

"The Legion. They're going to turn on us when this is over, I could tell just by the looks they were giving you," Leon pointed out.

Jaden had been getting the same feelings and he wasn't happy to have Leon confirming them. He'd known a lot of the Legion troops had been looking at him in ways he'd rather not think about.

"As long as they only get to undress me with their eyes I don't really care! We're prepared for what they're planning to pull. It's what's on that carrier that worries me."

"And the fact we're relying heavily on Epsilon for the whole thing," Leon grunted. "I just hope the floor plan he gave us is accurate and he can do what he's supposed to do on time."

"I wouldn't worry too much. He doesn't want Delta or the Legion to win today either," Jaden assured him. "He might be a problem in the future though I hope it never comes to that."

Leon nodded in approval. "Good to see you're taking it into consideration. But let's focus on what we've got to do because we're the keystone in the next battle. The mothership can destroy those Liberty Prime knock offs and keep the carrier occupied but it's up to us to tip the balance. Unless we do the carrier and the fighters between them will collapse the mothership's shields and knock it down, so if we're going to have any chance of winning this the carrier's got to be taken out of the equation. "

"And if that can't be done?" Jaden asked.

"We've got to do it one way or the other. The first target's got to be that death gun. If we get that offline the carrier will be toothless and can't blast the mothership or our ground army."

"I presume you know how to do that?" Jaden asked in hope.

"If they've copied the alien tech exactly then yes, it shouldn't be too tough. But Jaden, are you ready for the worst today? I don't know how this will go. Stealth will be key in getting inside but speed's going to be important too. If we get detected too early it's all for nothing anyway but if we take too long there'll be no one to come home to. And as for getting off the ship..."

"You don't need to say it, Leon. I'd sooner not die anytime soon but I've been prepared for it ever since all this started. Stopping Delta and his freaks has to come before everything else," Jaden said firmly.

"Glad to hear it," Leon mused. "Because I figure if everything goes our way and the plan goes well; I'd give us a 50/50 chance at best at getting off that carrier alive...


	21. Let slip the dogs of war

Sorry it's been as long as it has but a bout of food poisoning doesn't do much for a guy and his writing capability.

TSCSupremeCommander: Thanks for all the reviews and the answer's yes, feel free and good luck on your fic.

Cold Secrets: There's another big battle coming up alright. Hopefully I can make it bigger than the last one.

eaglescorch: Maybe...maybe not. Some things I'll keep to myself for now : ).

Oddliver: Not a bad idea. I'm still working on the final battle details so I'll keep that in mind.

Spartan-A312: Sorry I'm not that fast in writing right now but I'll do the best I can.

Ok, back to the fic. I just hope most of you have strong stomachs because being ill helped me to dream real dark for this part...

**Rendezvous point near Shady Sands border**

Tau was duly waiting for the 2 heroes with the sky fighter as Epsilon had promised.

"The beacons are being placed as we speak," she told them. "They'll be online and ready for when we need them."

Jaden was relieved by the news. "Good. We can't have anything go wrong on this. Let's just hope we don't have to reveal that card unless we have to."

"We'd better get going ourselves, Jaden," Leon warned. "It won't be long before the carrier gets within firing distance. If that happens before we get there it's goodnight NCR and possibly the whole west coast. Is this thing easy to fly?"

"If you let it it'll almost fly itself," Tau replied. "I'll give you a run through on the controls then it's all up to you."

**Sky Carrier**

"Send the Liberators in first," Delta coldly ordered. "With luck they'll crush this united army or at least damage it so it will have little effect. I don't know what the Courier and Omega are planning but that army must be part of it. If we limit their options there's every chance of destroying whatever strategy they have before it begins. Recall the sky fighters to defend the carrier."

"Complying!" Sigma was eager to get this over and done with as well.

Delta wasn't admitting this to anyone but he was feeling emotions he hadn't experienced in a long time: fear and uncertainty. He had no idea what his two archenemies were planning and that scared him half to death. Omega alone was bad enough, that much he knew. Combine him with Jaden Storm and that gave a whole new level of problem. Those two gave the word unpredictable a whole new meaning. All he could do until he knew more was to press on and hope for the best.

Ironically he'd just played straight into the heroes' hands on two fronts...

**Mothership Zeta**

Sally and Elliott had moved the ship as close as they dared to the cyborg army.

"Let's just hope they're busy looking at the ground and not at what's in the air with them," Elliott mused.

"Whether they do or not we have to do this," Sally said in a matter of fact way. She wasn't her usual bubbly self; she knew they had every chance of dying on this one if Jaden and Leon couldn't pull off their plan.

"I know," Elliott agreed. He couldn't have been more proud of Sally. She was as tough as any soldier he'd served with and yet she still managed to maintain her air of innocence. "Are you sure these point defence guns are going to work?"

"Not a clue!" Sally admitted. "The only combat we ever had was with that second ship. We've never had to deal with fighters before."

A very honest answer as Elliott already knew. All they could do was keep going on with the plan and have faith in Leon and Jaden.

**Hijacked sky fighter**

"Leeonnnnn!" Jaden was fast regretting letting Leon take the controls and his stomach was in trouble.

"Just trying to get a feel for it that's all." Leon grinned as he swung the fighter into another tight turn.

"Please don't!" Jaden protested. "Unless you want my breakfast in your lap!"

"You're no fun," Leon sighed. "But I guess you're right. Don't want you throwing up pre mission and... good!"

"What is it?"

"An order over the computers from the carrier; a general recall," Leon revealed. "Here's our chance. If we can mix in with the squadron we can slip aboard easier. You ready?"

Jaden was checking the plasma defender and alien disintegrator rifle he'd been given. "Ready as I'll ever be!"

"That goes for me too!"

"What the fu...?" Leon and Jaden whirled around in their seats to find Yuna deactivating her stealth field and crawling out of the maintenance hatch at the rear.

"You're supposed to be back with Dan on the battlefront!" Jaden spluttered. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" Yuna shot back sharply. "Delta murdered my dad, my friends and destroyed my home. I've spent the last three years thinking he's dead only to find he got away scot free! He's NOT getting away again!"

Leon wasn't happy with the situation but he knew where Yuna was coming from and also knew he didn't have any right to lecture. Back in the Capital Wasteland he'd wanted Autumn dead and the Enclave destroyed so badly he could have tasted it. Alright revenge didn't bring him peace but he knew he couldn't have started on the road back to a normal life without it. From the look on Yuna's face it was obvious she felt the same way.

"We can't go back now Jaden. The carrier's recalled all its fighters, I'm locked on course and they're undoubtedly monitoring us on their radar. If I deviate off and go back now they might figure something's up. We can't risk it."

"Damn it!" Jaden cursed.

"_If_ we survive we're going to have a little chat about this later," Leon gave Yuna an angry look. "For now stay out of sight and get your weapons ready."

"There it is!"

Jaden's warning jerked them all back to reality and the terrifying sight that was coming out of the clouds in front of them. The carrier was a terrible and demoralising sight to anyone who saw it.

"Same size as our Mothership and same weapons," Leon muttered. "I bet it's got shield capacity too."

"Watch out!" Jaden felt a surge of alarm as another sky fighter suddenly appeared alongside theirs.

"Don't panic," Leon reassured him although he sunk down in his seat out of sight as well. "It's just getting into formation and landing alongside us."

All their nerves eased as they saw other sky fighters landing ahead in twos.

"I'm taking us in. Hang on."

**NCR frontline**

Back at the camp a few more problems had come up namely with the Legion. One of their Legion commanders had broken ranks, taking his own force and the reserve force Vulpes had been holding in reserve on the Nevada border and marching on the cyborg force independently.

Praetor Suetonius, an ambitious and power hungry leader, had been a thorn in Vulpes' side for some time now. He considered himself a Legion purist and as such he'd been disgusted with the plan to ally with the NCR and New Vegas and had been the loudest voice of opposition when Vulpes had informed the Legion army.

Vulpes had assumed that Suetonius would be able to hold off his objections for the battle after action report. That had been too much to hope for. That was the problem with a lot of the Legion; too much courage and bloodlust for its own good.

"How many has he taken?" Vulpes was asking Varo barely keeping his anger in check.

"All his own 2000 men, that's for sure," Varo replied grimly. "And all the reserves on the border."

Vulpes knew what that meant and promised himself that if Suetonius somehow survived, Vulpes would nail him to a cross personally. Not only had he weakened their standing army but he'd taken all the backup forces that Vulpes had planned to use for his planned takeover at the end of the battle.

"They're just marching to their own deaths!" Arcade snorted. "The minute they get in range all the cyborgs have to do is press a button!"

"Or send in the other 2 robots," Hanlon wasn't impressed either. This was exactly how the Legion had tasted defeat in the first battle at Hoover Dam. Then it was a good thing but now he knew it could cost them everything. "Can you do anything to stop that?"

Arcade grimaced as Hanlon asked the question he'd been dreading. The answer was yes but it meant using the Mothership sooner than they'd wanted to and a schedule speed up that they couldn't tell Leon and Jaden about. He went over to the radio with his heart sinking fast.

**Mothership Zeta**

"You want us to engage? Now?" Elliott couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But they haven't even boarded yet!"

Sally was feeling uneasy as she heard Elliott's exchange with Arcade.

"Yes, I understand. You'd better know what you're doing! If we go in too soon...alright. But on your head be it!"

"They want us to attack now?" Sally's eyes went wide.

"It seems not all the ground army got the same instruction manual," Elliott muttered. "We've got to move in now to save some of them."

"But it's too early! If Leon and Jaden don't get through that ship in time...!"

"I know," Elliott replied bluntly. "But I don't think there's any choice. Like it or not we're soldiers in this battle too and we're expected to put it on the line like all the others on the ground. I don't like having to bail these slaver soldiers out but..."

Sally nodded. "Ok. Let's do it. Shields and main weapons are good...I just hope those point turrets work or we're not going to last long!"

**Sky Carrier**

"The fighter squadron has landed safely, Imperator," Sigma reported. "Just in time too. Reports from our probes indicate a portion of the enemy army has broken away."

"And they're advancing on us I presume?" Delta smirked.

"Yes Imperator," Sigma was taken by surprise.

"It's not that hard to anticipate now that the Legion is involved. Most of them have more courage than sense," Delta snorted in condescension.

"True. The death gun is armed; all we have to do is to wait for them to walk into range."

"No, that sort of courage should be rewarded with death in combat," Delta said. "Only it will be of the hopeless variety! Order Liberation 2 and 3 forward. Smash those Latin speaking primates into oblivion!"

"With pleasure."

Iota was concerned though she didn't show it. It did look like impulsive Legion courage but why was that unit attacking on its own? It wouldn't go out like that unless it had some kind of ace in the hole backing it up, but what was it?

**Mothership Zeta**

"Those two big robots are going out ahead of the main group!" Sally read from her instruments.

"Just as Leon hoped they would," Elliott noted. "How long before we have a firing solution?"

"Two minutes," Sally replied. "But once I do this..."

Elliott knew. Their jamming had done a good job of concealing their position up to now but there was no way the carrier would miss a death gun blast and once they tracked it back to source they'd launch every sky fighter they had. If it were just a one on one match with the carrier he'd have put their odds about even but with the fighter squadron coming at them as well their odds of surviving were not promising.

"Lock on and prepare to fire!" Elliott was too determined to care. Those Liberty copies had to be destroyed whatever the cost or the ground army wouldn't be able to win at all.

**Sky Carrier**

Three minutes later you could have cut the atmosphere on the bridge with a knife. Two of the cyborgs' prize weapons had just been erased from the map in the blink of an eye and a golden pillar of destructive light. They'd been tough but even they couldn't withstand a full blast from a Zeta death beam.

"Track the source of that beam!" Sigma ordered as he came out of his shock first.

"I knew they had something hidden!" Delta spat. "It doesn't take much to guess what it is."

Sigma gave confirmation. "They've sent out a lot of jamming but configuration is confirmed. An original alien Mothership."

"Yes but how did they get it is what I'd like to know," Iota added. "Given we should have had that technology to ourselves."

"I suspect Omega has something to do with that," Delta mused. "As soon as the fighters are recharged and rearmed send them out again. Destroy that ship by any means necessary!"

"What of the Roman imitators?" Sigma asked. "With the Liberators gone they're free to advance on us. Should I arm the death gun?"

"No but tell Gamma to send out the Cerberus units. It's said the Legion doesn't know fear. It's time that changed..."

**Sky Carrier landing deck**

"Unless I'm mistaken I think they're about to scramble the squadron again," Leon was observing the hive of activity in the landing bays. Hordes of cyborgs were hurriedly working on the fighters, turning them around and preparing them for takeoff.

"Which means we need to get off fast!" Yuna was alarmed.

Jaden nodded. "Right. But can we get off this deck without being spotted? I should have borrowed Dan's armour now that I think of it."

Both Yuna and Leon realised he was right. Both of them were in mk2 recon armour but Jaden was still in his favourite duster; good for combat but no stealth capability.

"Good thing I thought ahead then," Leon brought out a stack of stealth boys. "I'll take the lead with Yuna. You follow behind; keep using those until we get off the flight deck. Trouble with them is they only last so long."

"Don't worry I'll go from cover to cover," Jaden assured him. "I'm good at hiding when I need to be."

Yuna was fired up now. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's do it!"

**Forward Legion group-SE of NCR frontline**

Praetor Suetonius was flying high on confidence. He'd managed to slip away from the main camp, rendezvous with the backup forces and march forward all without incident. Now all they had to do was destroy these cyborg forces and he would come home with the glory; then it would be interesting to see how long Vulpes would last in the position of Legate.

Suetonius had been incensed by Vulpes and his actions of late. Allying with the profligates _and _the very same person who had handed the Legion its worst defeat in years and killed Legate Lanius doing so? He might as well have spat on everything the Legion stood for! Last Suetonius looked the Legion smashed and conquered their enemies; they certainly didn't ally with them. The Legion had always stood alone and it had stood strong even when it suffered defeat. From Suetonius' point of view in spite the losses in the last 2 battles who stood stronger than ever now? Not the NCR that was for sure.

Despite the ominous rumours he'd heard of the cyborgs Suetonius was convinced this was half exaggeration and the other half simply the way it was meant to be. The profligates' weakness had finally shown itself as he knew it would. Whoever these cyborgs were they'd never faced the Legion and that would be their undoing. Little did Suetonius know it yet but it would have been more apt to turn that phrase around as he was about to find out.

"Praetor! On the hill!"

Suetonius was jerked back to reality by his fellow Praetorian's warning. Three cyborgs stood on top of the hill ahead of their marching column: namely Omicron, Rho and Gamma.

"So they're real," the Praetorian almost sounded afraid.

"Grow a spine!" Suetonius snapped. "There's only three of them and there's over 1000 of us! What are they going to do? Take us all alone? They're obviously here to negotiate so let's oblige them. Praetorian guards forward. The rest of the legions will stay here."

Gamma couldn't help but sneer as he watched Suetonius and his 50 or so elite troops approach. He'd reacted just as they'd hoped he would.

"So predictable," Omicron said what all 3 were thinking. "He actually thinks he can intimidate us!"

"We'll see who does the intimidating!" Gamma chuckled along with him.

Suetonius and the others were trying hard not to show it but they were finding the cyborgs unnerving. He was still trying to figure out what to say first when Rho beat him to the punch.

"Well, well. The great Caesar's Legion. Wish I could say I was impressed." Her tone was clue enough that she wasn't.

It was enough to goad Suetonius. "You think I'll take that from a woman even if she is clad in metal, wench?"

"You want to see the damage that metal can inflict firsthand, caveman?"

"Enough Rho," Omicron chided. "He's hardly worth your time and talent."

"If you're here just to insult us and there's only the three of you, then I guess you're not as strong or as smart as I've heard," Suetonius gloated.

"No...we're stronger still," Omicron spat. "Your pitiful religion and faith in your legions have turned to arrogance over the years. So much so that you didn't notice what should have been blindingly obvious even to Neanderthals like you."

Suetonius felt a pang of panic. "What do you mean?"

Gamma gave the answer with a cold sneer. "Whoever said we were alone? NOW!"

The cyborgs had made great strides in the development of stealth technology. They'd known the route the Legion forces were taking and had strategically placed a few of their new stealth generators along it. The mobile metal electronic pillars produced an umbrella of the same aura as stealth suits and stealth boys and could be tailored to cover certain people or life forms. In this case, of course, cyborgs and mainly the new Cerberus class.

They were seven feet tall, coal black steel armour, samurai style wide brimmed helmets that covered the entire face except for an eye slit, two heavy chemical tanks on the back and what looked like grenade launchers in their hands. It was these they used first. As soon as the stealth fields dropped they raised their launchers and fired 200 projectiles straight into the air over the groups of legionaries. They did not explode but burst over the groups spilling sticky viscous black liquid everywhere. Soon whole cohorts were covered and bogged down in it. It was like a mix of tar and super glue.

Suetonius's expression of horror soon turned to terror as his group found themselves surrounded by multiple devastator cyborgs.

"I can't believe you fell for this," Gamma snorted in derision. "For all your boasts of superiority you're just like any organic...pathetic and weak. Now for the grand finale. I believe the expression is frying tonight?"

The Cerberus cyborgs, like many of the other models, were aptly named. Upon pinning the cohorts in place they sheathed their launchers and armed their main weapons. Both of their supersized arms came with flame jets connected to the tanks on their backs. It didn't take long for them to warm these up and start turning the tar pits into cremation grounds. Hundreds of legionaries died in utter agony as their blood boiled and were literally cooked alive. Within ten minutes only Suetonius and his Praetorian group remained.

"I find there's nothing like roast organics, wouldn't you say Omicron?" Gamma gloated with relish. "What do we do with the rest of these throwbacks?"

"We'll send one back to spread the word among the enemy of this defeat. In fact, I've got a perfect idea on how to choose," Omicron tossed what look like a small book over to the disbelieving Suetonius. It was a book of lottery tickets...

An hour or so later one lone and near traumatised but extremely lucky Praetorian was stumbling home back to the north. After he'd been pulled away from the rest, being the lucky winner, the rest were forced to lie flat on the ground. Four other Cerberus cyborgs surrounded them, these were different in that their armour was yellow and their tanks held a very different cargo.

"Just finish it then!" Suetonius spat out in a last act of defiance. "I may burn but I know the rest of the Legion will avenge me and nail you to a wall!"

"Oh you're not going to burn," Gamma replied frostily. "You're just going to be good test subjects."

With that the yellow Cerberus troops fired their jets but instead of flame these fired a new nanite based chemical compound mixed with sulphuric acid. The lucky survivor couldn't bear to watch the gory sight for more than ten seconds before turning away for ten seconds and losing his lunch. The acid was perfectly gauged to strip away flesh and bone whilst the nanites acted as both a preservative and a hardening agent on the victims' bone structures. They were all dead in less than a minute leaving only intact skeletons that were slowly turning to pure metal.

"I'd say it works perfectly wouldn't you?" Gamma asked.

"Yes I'd say so," Rho replied. For them the screams had been music to their ears. "Pity we've only got one batch of this new weapon."

"It was a prototype and we weren't sure that it works, " Omicron explained. "Now we know that it does we can mass produce it once this battle is done and return the Legion to the primordial muck where it belongs...and keep the only parts of them that are any use to us of course."

All three watched in satisfaction as the skeleton that had once been Suetonius started to animate...


	22. Cold hatred

Oh man! So sorry about the horrendous month long delay. I don't know what it is about big battles but they always seem to derail my progress. Thanks for all the messages of support; they certainly kept me going. To reassure everyone: I AM NOT GIVING UP!

Oddliver: Your wait is over and you're about to find out.

Cold secrets: It is hard to feel bad for them most of the time.

Sgtranglin: Glad you still love it.

TSCSupremeCommander: You're welcome. Thanks for the encouragement; I always find the endings hard to do.

DeathScytheVII: No that wasn't part of Jaden's plan just Legion overconfidence and stupidity. Jaden didn't plan for that and he'd have been just as mad if he'd known. Funny you should mention Hoover Dam because I have taken a little inspiration from there.

Drednaught: The BOS will be there. Liberty Prime no, the only other copy is back in the Citadel being rebuilt.

eaglescorch: Don't worry too much, yes they can. They 're for psychological show more than battle strength.

AnthnonyR89: I'd suggest you read _all _the parts and my last fic before rushing to judgment. You missed the point on both fronts. The cyborg commanders aren't like the drones. They're not emotionless but driven by superiority complex and hatred of humanity. As for the army you actually fell for the feint that it was! Allowing the army to reform made it a big fat target for their superweapons. Try reading the whole thing before looking for holes (pardon the expression). I don't mind criticism but only if the facts are right.

Right time to get the fic back on. Enjoy!

**Sky Carrier-lower levels**

The infiltrators were having an easier time than Leon or Jaden thought they would. The carrier's crew was only at a third of its usual strength, most of the cyborgs were down with the ground army and so it was fairly easy to move around. Leon could tell the ship had been Enclave made; the corridors were almost identical to those of the mobile crawler.

"I can't believe they didn't put in sentry guns or cameras or something," Jaden whispered as they sneaked through the ship.

"Didn't expect anyone to get in here," Leon smirked. "We'll make sure that's their undoing!"

"You sure we're going the right way?" Yuna asked. "Watch out!"

Jaden quickly activated another stealth boy as two cyborg engineers crossed the corridor ahead.

"I'm not sure about anything in here except that gun is definitely at the front of the ship," Leon explained once they'd gone. "Epsilon's floor plan isn't too detailed."

"Let's just get to it fast then," After all the cyborgs had done and the damage they'd caused Jaden was eager to answer in kind.

**NCR frontline**

By now the traumatised Praetorian and word of what happened to Suetonius and his legion had filtered back to the main camp.

"Those bastards," Cass muttered as she heard the news. "They were Legion but they didn't deserve that!"

Boone nodded. "If anything it'll get the rest fired up. That's our best hope right now."

Both were listening in to Vulpes' angry reaction and Hanlon trying to calm him down.

"Whatever you do don't go charging away after them! We're in this together; we can't hope to defeat this enemy alone!"

"That, and the fact that Suetonius was a fool, are the only things keeping me from attacking now and putting these metal freaks to the flame!" Vulpes replied bitterly.

Hanlon was relieved that Vulpes had at least kept his head. Things weren't looking good even with the Brotherhood and militia reinforcements that had just arrived from Vegas. Any more divisions like this and they were certainly dead.

After Vulpes left to meet with Varo and reorganise the enraged Legion, Paladin Ramos entered the command tent.

"You heard then?" Hanlon asked grimly.

"The whole camp heard," Ramos replied in the same tone. "One good thing about it: the shock and the fear's turning to anger. I think they might have overdone the terror tactics this time; it's got the Legion and everyone else more pissed off than afraid."

"That's good but it won't do much good if they deploy these fire cyborgs on the frontline," Hanlon fretted. "One of the worst things I can imagine is being burned alive."

"We've made improvements to our power armour recently," Ramos informed him. "It's been reinforced against extreme cold and heat. If the cyborgs put these models on the front first...we'll give them a surprise of our own. I doubt their fuel tanks can take much punishment from a Gauss rifle."

Hanlon nodded agreement. "We're advancing as soon as the last reinforcements from Arroyo arrive. They're not much more than civilian militia but it will all help."

Both men left unsaid what they were both thinking; that they'd need all the help and all the luck they could get...

**Mothership Zeta**

"Shields up!" Elliott had done his best but knew it hadn't been enough to evade the carrier's detection. Not if the phalanx of sky fighters coming in on them was any hint.

"They're already up," Sally had seen the approaching attackers on her display. "I'm arming the point defence guns now..."

She'd barely finished doing that when a wave of blue fire smashed into their shields.

Elliott cursed. "Shields holding but weakening. They're down to 92% already. We've got to knock them out or we'll be down and out in minutes!"

"Well now's our chance!" Sally and 3 of her red alien helpers had finished arming the gun arrays. "Wait until they try again and let them have it!"

It worked better than they'd hoped. The sky fighters, thinking they were going to have an easy time of it, were caught by surprise as small Zeta turrets opened up with a hail of blue fire. Their impressive flight skills and quick reactions saved most of them but eight were simply not quick enough and they died as blue energy bolts slammed home.

**Sky Carrier-Bridge**

"Fighter leader is reporting casualties, Imperator!" Sigma reported in alarm. "The ship has more defence capability than we thought."

"Then turn and engage!" Delta snapped angrily. "If they can't do it alone we'll bring it down with our death gun."

"What about the enemy on the ground?"

"Our forces there should be able to deal with them, tell Omicron to engage," Delta replied confidently. "We must win this air battle first. Once we have air superiority again our victory is assured. Turn and blast that ship!"

"Complying!"

**Sky Carrier-Death gun section**

"Is that it?"

"That's it!" Leon answered Jaden's question with enthusiasm. They'd had to crawl into the ventilation shafts for the last leg of their sneaking into the vessel's weapons section. The corridors were too well patrolled here.

Despite that hitch they'd managed to crawl into the death gun firing area. It had been largely copied from the Zeta Mothership; the gun itself was outside a glass window at the front. Nine cyborgs manned the trigger and the 3 cooling stations.

"How do we destroy something like that?" Yuna was overawed at the sight of the Zeta death ray weapon. "It's bigger than any gun on Earth!"

"It's not hard to do that," Leon calmly explained. "See those three pyramid like things? Those are the cooling units. If we take them out the gun will overheat and blow on its own. It'll be rendered a useless hunk of scrap metal."

Jaden winced. "Only thing is the cyborgs. Once we do this that's it for stealth. We'll have to fight our way through from here on in."

"Had to come to this sooner or later," Leon replied bluntly. "It might as well be..."

Leon was cut off by Sigma's voice over the intercom. "Bridge to gun station. Report! What is the status of the death gun?"

"Fully operating," one of the engineers responded.

"Activate and prepare to lock on to airborne target!"

"Shit!" Yuna spat. "They must be after the Mothership!"

"Which they're not getting," Leon had gone into ice cold killer mode. "Ready Jaden?"

Jaden had just finished unlocking the vent. "Ready."

"Ok, NOW!"

All three let loose a hail of laser and plasma fire and took the cyborg engineers apart. They were neither armed nor that well trained for combat and it was just like a shooting gallery for the three heroes. They weren't fast enough, however, to stop one from pushing an alarm switch before he was taken down sending a loud klaxon sounding through the carrier.

"Damn it!" Jaden cursed. "Now we haven't got much time."

Yuna went straight for one of the cooling units. "Ok, what do we do? Blow these up?"

"Just twist it and lift them," Leon demonstrated as he manipulated another unit himself while Jaden went over to the last. "That pulls out the cooling stabilisers. Do it to all three coolers on all the units and then get the hell away from them!"

"Gun crews, report!" Sigma's voice was just about audible over the klaxon. "What's going on down there?"

He didn't get any reply or at least not the verbal variety. All 3 had finished their sabotage and quickly got back as all 3 cooling units started pulsing, overheated and then blew their stacks.

**Sky Carrier-Bridge**

"What is happening down there?!" Delta was full of anger and fear in equal measure as the alarm klaxon went off.

"The death gun is offline!" Sigma was aghast. "All three cooling units are non-operational. We are defenceless!"

"Raise the shields!" Delta ordered. "Get units down there immediately to investigate ..."

"Don't bother Delta!" Leon's voice, burning with hatred, came through the intercom. "I've just broken your little toy and now I'm about to break the rest of this piece of floating crap."

"Omega..." the horror rushed through Delta like a tidal wave. "I don't know how you got onto this carrier but you will never leave it alive. You've made your last mistake coming here and I'll see you deleted this time!"

"Then I wish you luck," Leon snorted in contempt. "You and your tin rejects are going to need it. Now if you'll excuse me I've got this ship to trash and your invasion to screw over. See you."

Delta almost convulsed with rage. "Arm every cyborg on this ship and bring me his head!"

"Complying!"

**Sky Carrier-Death gun section**

"Wasn't that a little risky?" Yuna worried. "Telling him we're here that is and piss him off while you're at it?"

Leon disagreed. "Right now he only knows that I'm here and hopefully this'll throw him off balance. Delta's greatest strengths are also his greatest weaknesses: his ego and his hot temper. I got the best of him and his tincans once; he'll be desperate not to let me do it again...and he'll have to find us first!"

"So what do we trash next?" Jaden was fired up and confident now.

"At some point we need to get their shields offline. Maximise our escape options. Trying to get out through the fighter bays again might get us killed."

Yuna grinned. "Anyway off this ship might get us killed but if Delta goes down it'll be worth it!"

"That's what I hoped you'd say," Leon matched her grin. "Let's move!"

**NCR frontline**

Omicron had been reluctant to start what he thought would be the final battle without the carrier but orders were orders and, from what he was able to tell, the carrier wasn't going to be available anytime soon.

Still he knew his cyborgs still had most of the advantages and he was still confident of victory as were Gamma and Rho. Both had been looking forward to this battle with relish.

None of them were aware that Epsilon had planted two of his own cyborgs inside the advancing army. Once they'd worked out the enemy forces' composition they split and radioed a report to Epsilon who in turn passed it to Boone.

Boone wasn't looking forward to this battle. He knew a whole lot of people would not be coming home from this and, even if they did, it would be to a very different west coast. Not that he had any qualms about executing the plan he'd agreed with Jaden. The only question now was the timing of it. Too soon and it could fail outright, too late and they'd suffer too many losses even if they did succeed.

"Nervous too, huh?" Cass had appeared from nowhere at his side.

"So I'm not that hard to read anymore?" Boone asked in his same emotionless tone. "Too bad."

"No one's that hard to read today. Everyone's shit scared including me," Cass said humourlessly. "Knowing what's coming doesn't help."

Boone had to suppress a grin. Cass was easy to underestimate. She was crude and blunt when talking but she always had a razor sharp mind. "You have problems with what we're about to do? You seem a lot less angry than back at the Lucky 38."

"I just did the same as I did before Hoover Dam. I just took a step back and had a cold hard look at things. Just like then I didn't like what I saw or our plans but..."

"You didn't have any better idea? Neither did I," Boone admitted. "But I think it's gone past the point where things can be just talked out."

"Yeah. Like or not our country's dug its own grave," Cass muttered in anger. Half at the NCR for its own stupidity and half at herself for what she was about to take part in. "And now I'm going to help bury it..."

Boone nodded in agreement, "I know the feeling. But there's no choice left. The cyborgs have left the NCR crippled. To get rid of them and make sure the Legion doesn't take advantage is all we've got."

It was a bitter truth. Aside from Arroyo on the NCR's north-west borders every NCR state had been affected by the invasion. Vault City and Reno were untouched but many of the smaller settlements surrounding them had been put to the flame. As for the south of the NCR; Shady Sands, Maxson, the Hub, Junktown...

It took all Cass's will to block out the despair she felt. "I know. I just hope Jaden's right about that Epsilon kid, a lot of this plan relying on a cyborg doesn't sit well with me."

"He's no kid but I take the point," Boone replied. "And I think we're about to find out whether Jaden was right or not..."

Across the plains the cyborg main army was coming into view. Hundreds of drones, devastator, Arachnotron and Cerberus class cyborgs were all converging on them. Amongst them were the freshly created Revenants. The solid metal walking skeletons that were all that was left of Suetonius and his legion. They had no beam weapons or guns but their sharp blade arms were more than capable of splitting a man in two and their very presence sent chills of fear through the allied human ranks.

Boone clenched his fist as the human army got ready. The final confrontation was now inevitable.

**Sky Carrier-Cold storage area**

Jaden and his team had stumbled across a very macabre area of Delta's operations. Both Jaden and Leon recognised the Zeta technology as soon as they saw it. What they weren't prepared for were the sheer number of pods on each side of the room. Whereas Leon had seen a few sets on the Mothership in enclosed chambers years ago the large room they'd snuck into was literally packed with them in the open and most were occupied.

"Holy shit..." Jaden and Yuna were fighting hard not to be physically ill. Leon simply snorted in disgust.

Most of the tanks were full of captives, civilian and soldier alike, put on freeze for conversion later. But of these only two thirds were still alive. A lot had been experimented on. Bile stirred in Yuna's stomach as she approached one tank containing a now deceased fourteen year old girl. Her stomach had been split open.

"Why?" Yuna finally managed to get her mouth to work.

"Improvements," Leon muttered. "That's what they'd call it anyway. They're always trying to refine the upgrade process so they can churn out cyborgs faster and better and make new ones."

"And that one went wrong when they tried to 'improve' her insides?" Jaden's anger was rising by the minute.

"Just like that one when they tried new optics no doubt," Leon pointed to another man whose eye sockets were empty and caked in blood. Leon had started to realise he'd been lucky to have been altered by Alpha. Since his death Delta had obviously thrown caution to the wind and had been more than a little cack handed with his experiments.

"I thought you might try sneaking this way!"

All 3 threw themselves into cover on instinct as a plasma bolt lanced across the room at them. Leon and Yuna recognised the female voice immediately.

"Iota!" Leon spat.

"I've been looking forward to this Omega!" Iota was accompanied by ten other cyborgs, most of them devastator.

"To what, you failing again?" Leon shot back a laser beam as well as verbally. "You know you've got no chance of taking me alive!"

"Who said anything about alive?" Iota's voice was venomous. "Ever since you deleted our commander and destroyed our home I've been dreaming about deleting you for years!"

She opened fire with a hail of plasma bolts keeping Leon suppressed behind the control panel he'd taken refuge behind.

"Yeah? Well keep dreaming!" Jaden popped up from his cover and opened fire downing three of Iota's backup with precise VATS shots.

"The two of you together? All the better for me when I delete you!" Iota was fired up.

"Let me take care of this icebitch!" Yuna was fired up herself now and mostly with raw fury. She remembered Iota all too well as Delta's main lapdog and if there was one thing she was now bent on it was hurting him personally. "I've got an idea! Lure her down the side of the room if you can. Taunt her and I'll do the rest."

Leon nodded knowing what she had in mind. "Cloak and go!"

Yuna activated her stealth mode and crept down the left side of the room making sure to keep out of sight behind the cryo tube rows.

Iota, meanwhile, was losing her patience rapidly. Now she knew she'd made a mistake being flippant with Leon early on, she hadn't expected to face both him and Jaden together. Now two more of her troops were down; blown away by 2 well thrown plasma grenades from Jaden.

"That the best your 'superior' race can do?" Jaden taunted.

"That's right; we're laughing at you tincans!" Leon joined in running over to the right side of the room and making sure Iota saw him do it.

"We'll see who laughs last!" Iota raged before angrily ordering the rest of her squad forward through the middle. She then headed for the array of cryo pods on the left moving stealthily. While the two heroes concentrated on them she'd use Omega's own tactics against him. The organic side of her face gained an ugly sneer as she saw him at the end of the walkway concentrating on her squad. Now she'd get to avenge her fallen mentor and commander...

"Is it cold in here or is it just me?"

Iota's glee turned to horror as she heard Yuna who'd decloaked behind her. She'd been suckered with the very trick she'd been planning to use and it was a fatal mistake. Yuna fired her laser rifle and scored direct hits...on the cryo tanks each side of Iota. Unlike the Zeta the cyborgs hadn't made these from heavily reinforced materials and the laser beams shattered their transparent fronts releasing a wave of ultra freezing fluid.

Needless to say the result was horrific. Even though most of her was metal even Iota couldn't withstand being covered by the equivalent of liquid nitrogen. Her flesh froze instantly and her metal joints seized up as they too were frozen solid. Leon and Jaden finished off her cyborg allies just in time to see Yuna, her face contorted with hatred, draw a 44 and fire shot after shot. The bullets shattered Iota's organic side into bloody ice crystals. There was nothing left of Tina Langley, aka Iota, other than a frozen metal husk.

"Yuna, are you ok?" Jaden asked in concern.

Yuna just nodded curtly in response. "One down, one to go."

"Yuna! Hate for the enemy's all well and good but if you let it it'll burn you up!" Leon warned harshly.

"He's right. You need to chill out though not like she did!" Jaden smiled wryly at his poor attempt at humour.

It was enough to put a small smile on Yuna's face.

"Iota! What is your status? Report immediately!"

The loud voice of Delta over the communicator on the wall broke their small celebration.

Yuna's grin grew wider on hearing it. "Allow me!"

"Iota, report your status and..."

"Hello Delta. I'm afraid your bitch is frozen and can't come to the communicator right now...or ever! Her status is deleted! Did she mean something to you? I hope so!"

Delta was apoplectic with shock and rage in equal measure. "Who is this?"

"Oh I'm hurt. I thought you'd remember the daughter of the town mayor you cowardly killed 4 years ago! You took my father from me, you slaughtered my friends and you destroyed my home. My name's Yuna, Delta! Between me and Leon we're going to do the same to you! Hope you didn't have any more plans for this ship because it's going down!"

Yuna cut the link before Delta could get any threats of his own in.

"Couldn't have done that any better myself!" Leon grinned. "How do you feel now?"

"A whole lot better!" Yuna had shouted out a lot of her anger. "But I'll only be good when he's gone."

"That goes for the region too," Jaden agreed. "Come on let's press on! We've got a shield generator to trash!"

**Sky Carrier-Bridge**

"Iota..."

For the first time in many years Delta was somewhere close to feeling sorrow. But it wasn't to last as rage and anger swiftly came back and took over again.

"Imperator..."

"Don't bother giving me worthless advice!" Delta roared. "Tell the sky fighters to knock that ship out of the air no matter how many of them it takes! Contact Omicron and tell him not to leave a single human alive down there. As for Omega and that little girl I left alive...they have challenged our race for the last time. I'm going to deal with them myself. As soon as I fire up the weapon I've been saving for this occasion that is..."


	23. HIdden aces

I never thought I'd be envious of eaglescorch; while he's turning out parts like there's no tomorrow I'm still doing rewrites and pulling teeth : (. Thanks for all the reviews, favs, follows and reads, guys, they keep me going through the rewrites and the pain.

Matty EYD: No more than two I think. The end is almost nigh.

Cold secrets: Only for a short while. Aside from anger, hate and bloodlust he doesn't have much in the emotion department most of the time.

Oddliver: I'm doing my best but the endings and big battles are the hardest to churn out.

Superstar Kid: Good question. It will be winners take all though you may be surprised at who all the winners are in the end. Delta's mad all right and he's going to make it as personal as he can...

TSCSupremeCommander: An interesting prediction...can't reveal too much alas but except it won't be as amicable at the end as you might think. Your second point's addressed in this part.

eaglescorch: You're still as perceptive as ever. Delta means to finish things on the carrier and with one of his old toys.

I know these parts aren't coming out as often as I'd (or you'd)like but I'm not giving this up and I will finish this if it's the last thing I do!

**NCR frontline**

The scene was one of absolute Armageddon. The cyborg army was advancing on the hastily dug Alliance trenches sending out a hail of energy fire. This time though they didn't have total superiority. Their air cover was still engaged against the Mothership and so they were having a tougher time against the combined faction army and Jaden's scorpions that were sending back a rain of their own fire. The cyborgs didn't have any cover and were suffering horrendous losses but, just like at Baltimore Haven, they didn't seem to care as their battle lines just kept on advancing.

"Shit, it's just like before, they're going to try and roll over us!" Dan warned. "Only we haven't got any walls to protect us this time!"

Dan knew the trenches only made good cover for so long. If the cyborgs got in amongst them Dan didn't rate their chances. Metal against flesh and blood in hand to hand...no contest from where Dan was standing.

"Then we just give them all we've got," Boone shot back next to him in their trench. "If we don't hold them here we never will. Just keep firing!"

Their side of the battlefield was holding up best of all. Between Ramos and his Paladins, the scorpions and the laser armed Aces and militia they were inflicting massive losses on the advancing drones and devastators on their right side of the side. The other side wasn't faring so well. Once again the Legion was proving too hot headed for its own good as whole cohorts had charged the cyborg lines. Most were cut down before they even got close. Those that did...well they didn't last very long before their necks were broken or their heads twisted off or they were cut in half. Flesh and blood simply wasn't a match for metal in close combat.

"Doug, take some of the men and reinforce the left," Boone ordered. "If it doesn't hold we'll have to fall back, we can't risk getting flanked."

Riker nodded as he hauled himself to his feet along with his Gatling laser. "Alright, squads 4 and 5 follow me!"

Boone moved along the trench to the Brotherhood section. "Ramos, have your men get ready to fall back to the rear trenches. Let them think they've got us and then..."

Ramos nodded in understanding. Jaden had briefed all his allies on their hidden aces. "It's a pity Lost Hills didn't respond to our radio calls. We could really have used them."

Despite the past animosity with the Brotherhood Boone had to agree but he knew wishing would not make it so. Lost Hills and the Maxson bunker were still the same as they had been for years: locked down solid. The cyborgs had ignored them since the main Brotherhood hadn't posed a threat; probably figuring they could deal with them once this was over.

"Your Elders probably still figure we'll all kill each other off," Boone eventually replied.

Ramos shrugged. "If this doesn't go well they might not be so far wrong. When do we spring it?"

"After they spring theirs," Boone replied coldly. "I just hope the Legion has something in reserve for their side or we might have to deploy it early."

"That's what I was afraid of," Ramos muttered. Having to rely on the Legion and the NCR definitely didn't sit well with him.

**Mothership Zeta**

"Shields down to 48%!" Elliott grimly reported from his console.

The aerial battle had turned into an all out unsubtle shooting war. The ship's point defence alien turrets were proving very effective, they'd downed over half the cyborgs' fighters. Having said that their shields were taking a real beating.

"How much longer can we hold out?" Sally was diverting power to the shields and weapons from wherever she could find it. Half the ship was in pitch darkness as she'd drained the lighting.

Elliott's reply was curt. "As long as we're needed! We could be Leon's only way off that ship. How many enemy fighters left?"

" 's going to be close."

Elliott knew the truth of that. Each fighter they downed increased their chances but could they do it before their shields collapsed? Only time would tell...

**Sky Carrier**

"Having fun?" Leon joked as he decapitated another cyborg with a clean headshot.

"Hell yeah," Jaden replied sarcastically. "I was thinking of taking this up as a hobby!"

After leaving the death gun in ruins the trio were pinned down in another corridor network by several squads of cyborgs and now they were stuck in a full gun battle.

"Shit, they can't rush us but we can't get rid of all of them either!" Yuna grabbed cover just in time as a blue bolt flew past her head.

"Then we don't," Jaden had got an idea. "Is there another way around to the shield generator besides this corridor?"

Leon nodded. "Yeah. What do you have in mind?"

Jaden held up a landmine in response. "Doesn't matter about collateral damage, right?"

Leon grinned as he produced a mini-nuke. "Right."

Yuna's eyes widened. "Oh shit..."

A few minutes later Delta, who was two decks away, was flung off his feet as the whole carrier was rocked by a massive explosion.

He grabbed his radio. "Report!"

"Internal structural damage on the weapons deck," Sigma grimly replied. "We've lost over 100 cyborgs down there."

Delta didn't need to guess what had caused all that. "Call off the remaining patrols."

"Call them off?" Sigma was taken aback. He'd expected Delta to send in everything they had.

"Yes, call them off. They're _mine._"

Delta coldly smiled as he cut the connection. It wasn't hard to figure that his enemies' primary targets would be the shield generators and the engines and logic dictated they'd try for the shields first in order to give themselves an escape route. This was all fine by him. He knew where to cut them off and he was more than ready...

**NCR frontline**

The battlefront was now hotting up, quite literally. The cyborgs had deployed their Cerberus units to the front of their lines. With their thick front armour absorbing most of the fire being flung at them everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before they closed on the trenches and turned them into fire pits.

Ashley realised this quicker than most. She was in the rear set of trenches on the left wing and saw the metal leviathans close in on the front trench like a jaw of death. Almost as bad were the Revenants. What the flame jets missed they mopped up, slashing throats, spilling guts and sometimes taking off heads with their razor sharp blade arms. Ashley could only stand the hideous sight of this and other men being roasted alive for ten seconds before she had to look away.

"Come on, get out!" Ashley barely had time to realise what was going on before Riker pulled her up and out of the trench. "We need to fall back!"

"But if we fall back they'll be through us!"

"We've laid a few surprises!" Riker grinned as he laid down covering fire. "Just let the heavies come through and you'll see!"

On the opposite line Gamma had worked up a bloodlust as he joined in the systematic slaughter on the frontline. Why did the organics bother? This was proving just an exercise for the cyborg legions. He had to respect the humans' courage but, as ever, their common sense seemed to be lacking. After splitting another unfortunate NCR trooper in half he took a moment to get his bearings and to see how the battle was faring.

So far it seemed to be going as Omicron had planned. He'd ordered the main push into the right side of the trenches manned by the Legion and the NCR. Just as before their great numbers weren't proving any impediment to their advance as the burning first trench line showed. On the other side things weren't going so well. The Vegas militia, the Brotherhood and their scorpion backup were putting up much stiffer resistance and didn't look like crumbling. Their energy and Gauss fire was proving more effective at penetrating the cyborg armour. Still Gamma knew that wouldn't matter if they could achieve a breach here. He turned his attention back to the ground ahead with that in mind and his lips curled into a sneer as he saw the small mounds in the earth between him and the next trench. Did they really think a simple minefield was going to stop their offensive?

"Cerberus formation advance!" Gamma knew that with their even thicker leg armour they should have no trouble walking straight through it and clearing it for the rest of the army.

This time that logic was to prove the cyborgs' Achilles heel. Jaden had figured the cyborgs would reason this way after he heard of the Cerberus units and their capabilities so the mines he'd had placed here weren't ordinary; they'd been developed at the Big Empty. They were half based on the Chinese spider drones and half on old Bouncing Betty mines.

The end result was a beautiful sight for the allied forces. As soon as the Cerberus cyborgs walked over them the advanced sensors on the mines kicked in, they sprung out of the ground and scuttled onto the backs of their targets at lightning speed aiming for their most vulnerable parts: the fuel tanks on their backs. Once attached they detonated in bright green explosions, they were packed with plasma explosive and they tore through the weak armour on the tanks easily.

Gamma watched with horror as their best weapons became bipedal torches. Boone watched with glee and admiration. Jaden was one hell of a strategist and it showed; he was making his mark even when he wasn't personally on the field.

At the rear trench on the left Vulpes and the Legion commanders were also smiling. Their moment for revenge had come.

"Sent the Centurions in, Varo. Show these freaks of nature that technology doesn't guarantee victory!"

**Sky Carrier**

"Something strike you as wrong, Leon?" Jaden asked as they snuck through corridor after corridor with no opposition.

"You need me to tell you this is too easy?" Leon shot back. "You seemed to have worked that out yourself."

"Hey guys, what's behind here?" Yuna had approached a large double door and was trying to open it with no success.

"The computer mainframe according to my map," Leon's interest had been piqued. "That'll have something useful."

"Assuming we can hack it," Jaden agreed.

"Oh, I wouldn't get worried about that," Yuna grinned. "Leon's a hacking champion. Speaking of which..."

"Right." Leon pulled out the connecting wire from his pip-boy and started hacking the door.

"So that's how you hacked the 38. I've got to get one of those for mine," Jaden was more than a little envious as Leon opened the door in 15 seconds flat.

"I'll show you how to rig it once this is over," Leon promised. "In the meantime let's have a look at this mainframe."

"Why bother if we're blowing this ship up?" Yuna wondered.

"This ship doesn't look like it's got ICBM launching equipment," Leon explained as he opened up the mainframe's systems. "We may have taken out the UFO gun but Epsilon said Delta had live nukes. If that's the case where's he got them and how could he use them? Unless we find that out..."

"Good point," Yuna remembered with a chill. "Where do you think he'd stash them if not here? He'd want to keep them close and where he could fire them at a minute's notice."

"My guess is the place he first came to when he fled the east coast," Leon reasoned. "There's god knows how many abandoned US military bases out there and most of those were nuclear armed back in the day."

"Just like the Divide," Jaden nodded. "It'd have to be somewhere close. Didn't you say his first landing zone was Nevada?"

Leon had been having the same thoughts. "That probably means the desert. If I can track back this ship's first launch point...I thought so."

"Where the hell's that?" Jaden thought the computer must have made a mistake, the coordinates put Delta's landing zone smack in the middle of the Nevada desert.

"A place that was as mythical as the Big Empty back in the day," Leon explained. "It was a military base called Area 51."

"Yeah I've heard of it. Supposed to be the place where the US government stored all its spooky stuff like alien technology, right?" Yuna mused.

"Given all we've been through and seen I think we can knock off supposed from that, right?" Jaden said with raised eyebrows.

"Would explain where they got their alien gear from," Leon agreed. "Unlike the pre-war government Delta and his cyborgs worked out how to use it and attach it to the Enclave's leftovers."

Jaden had a sudden brainwave. "How do you think he'll trigger the missiles if his army loses? Do you think he'd have a trigger installed here as well as back at the base?"

"He'd be a fool not to..." Leon grinned as he realised where Jaden was going. "Oh Jaden you are a fucking genius!"

"What? Don't keep me in suspense," Yuna complained.

"If we play our cards right we can deal with his missiles from here," Jaden said. "On the down side it means we have to take the bridge as well."

"Now you _have _lost it," Yuna spluttered. "This was a suicide mission to begin with! Now you propose to make that even harder?!"

"Your fault for coming along if you weren't prepared for a one way trip," Jaden rebuked.

"You're right," Yuna muttered. "Oh well, fuck it. If I do get killed my dad's waiting for me right?"

Leon smirked. "Don't get too fatalistic. Jake's still waiting for you. Let's make sure you're there for him when he wakes up. If we don't Amata and him will be waiting for us when we get to hell so let's get this job done and get off this chunk of shit."

Jaden nodded. "Gladly. But she has a point; what makes you think we can get to the bridge so easily with all the opposition?"

Leon's reply was somewhat cryptic. "If I'm right we'll have clear passage...or we'll be dead. We'll find out which in a short time."

**NCR frontline**

The tables had turned dramatically down on the battlefield. With the Cerberus units gone and the cyborgs in disarray the Legion Centurions had been able to close the distance and engage with their much nastier hand to hand gear. They were much more able in up close combat and knew how to hit weak spots and whereas the legionaries' machetes hadn't been of any use the Centurions' thermic lances and chainsaws were markedly more effective as Gamma was finding out. His fellow cyborgs were having their armour pierced and their organic faces cut to bloody ribbons around him as he fenced with Varo.

"Give it up monster!" Varo screamed as he parried Gamma's sword thrusts with his personal gladius. "You'll never defeat the Legion, you kill one of us then ten more will take his place!"

"You could assemble an army of maggots but they'd still be maggots!" Gamma sneered. "Humanity is obsolete and we are the future! You devolved cavemen are fit only for deletion!"

With a lunge Gamma grabbed the overconfident Varo by the throat with his left hand and hoisted him off his feet. Varo desperately swung his sword but Gamma effortlessly blocked it with his sword hand.

Gamma started to slowly clench his fist and choke Varo. "I've already seen the future, degenerate, and there is no place for any Caesar and his degenerate Legion. You needn't worry though, there's no place for the NCR either. We'll finish what you were too weak to do!"

"Over my dead body!"

Gamma turned toward the female voice to meet with a laser bolt straight into his head and he dropped Varo with a screech. He'd been so caught up in his win over Varo and his gloating that he didn't realise he'd been surrounded by allied reinforcements from the rear trenches and now an enraged Ashley was firing shot after shot into him from her alien disintegrator rifle until he was a smoking and leaking hulk of metal on the floor of the trench.

"That was for Cody's dad and my hometown you motherfucker!" Ashley spat as she came out of her berserker induced rage.

Amazingly, despite leaking most of his lubricant and with most of his circuits smashed, Gamma was still alive...and he was laughing. "Well done; you may have deleted me but I've done what I wanted most. Your republic's finished...even if you somehow defeat the Imperator it will never recover. The Legion dog you saved and who knows how many others will bury it and I helped make it possible."

Ashley didn't respond; she blew his head into pieces as her face contorted with fury.

Varo shakily regained his feet, relieved he was still alive but more than a little humiliated that he'd been saved by a profligate woman.

"It's ok," Ashley cut him off before he could say anything. "I won't tell your Legion friends if you don't!"

**Sky Carrier**

"How far now?" Yuna was getting suspicious. Since they'd hacked the mainframe they'd not run across any more cyborgs or other security measures.

"Through this cargo bay ahead and up one level," Leon replied as Jaden hit the door button and it hissed open to a dimly lit large room. "Get ready. If they're going to try something it'll be here."

"Nice to see your senses are as sharp as ever, Omega!"

All of them looked up to make out Delta standing alone on what looked like a raised platform. It was hard to see exactly; for some reason the whole room didn't have much lighting but his arrogant voice and glittering gold armour gave him away.

Delta was handclapping in a mocking display of applause. "Congratulations. You infiltrate my ship which I never thought any organic would ever do, you sabotage our main weapons, you rally every local faction against us...well I would keep going but I'd be talking for awhile wouldn't I? You 2 are truly amazing, almost 2 of the perfect race I'm hoping to create. A pity you chose to foolishly stand against the inevitable flow of destiny rather than join it."

Leon snorted. "Some things aren't as inevitable as some people think, Delta! The Enclave realised that just before I took them out."

Jaden was incredulous. "And you call us foolish? Coming down here to face us all by yourself? I think your ego must have got to your brain!"

Yuna could almost taste her revenge by now. "And I'm going to be the one to smash it out of your fucking head!"

Delta's eyes widened in realisation as he remembered Yuna from the past. "Oh this is too perfect. The little girl whose neck I almost broke has upgraded herself into a fighter."

"And I'm about to downgrade you to scrap!" Yuna spat. "Did you expect me to forget the death of my father?"

"No but on the other hand I certainly didn't expect you to follow me across a continent," Delta was almost speaking in admiration. "Proof, if any is needed, that we are destined to succeed."

"You orphaned Yuna and now you call it a success because she got tougher and 'evolved' because of you?" Leon shook his head in disgust. "You were always a wack job before Delta but now you don't even have any touch in reality!"

"Oh you're wrong about that Omega. I'm more in touch with reality now than I've ever been. Especially since I'm about to erase the biggest threats our race has ever faced. Meet my ace in the hole!"

With that he activated a remote in his hand and detonated a heavy explosive charge behind them. It shattered two racks of shelves and they collapsed, burying the entrance door in rubble and equipment.

Yuna just snorted. "You missed. I hope that wasn't your ace because it was pretty pathetic!"

She'd expected Leon and Jaden to back her up but they turned back to face Delta with grim expressions.

For good reason too, he was grinning insanely. "Oh no that wasn't. But this is!"

Delta pushed another button on his remote that turned on all the lights and revealed the reason for his confidence: a thirteen foot high warmech. It was modelled to a similar design as the heavy units Leon had seen at Baltimore Haven 4 years ago but this one looked even more advanced. In addition to the usual chain gun and rocket launcher attachments this one had 3 fingered pincer hands, two Multiplas guns, a flame jet and worst of all a shoulder mounted rail electric gun capable of hitting a wide area.

"In case you're wondering I upgraded this myself," Delta needlessly informed them. The gold paint job told the three heroes as much. "Now I think it's time for a little entertainment..."


	24. Vengeance and powerplays

What is it with me and endings? It's like a curse; writing usually comes easy to me but it's like getting blood out of the Rock of Gibraltar when it comes to battles and endings (and now I've got both!). But at last a breakthrough!

Matty EYD: Yes I'm planning to do more. Got 2 more ideas but not sure which I'll go for yet.

MASTER-OF-SUPRISE: Moore will get that but she should be careful what she wishes for...

eaglescorch: You point out Delta's biggest flaw very well. Villains like him always see the worst but never the best...a common mistake in the Fallout era.

TSCSupremeCommander: Thank you. Your drawings on deviantart did a good job of bringing my creations alive!

Oddliver: Maybe. Read on and find out!

Since I'm confident I've got my blocks cracked and I'm sick of the delays too I'm intending to finish this by the end of next week. Now time for the penultimate episode...

**Mothership Zeta**

"Shields at 5%!" A despairing Elliott Tercorien reported. "A few more hits and we'll be wide open!"

"I know," Sally was still desperately rerouting power from every system she could access to bolster the failing shields. It wasn't just the lighting down now but practically every system except life support, the guns and the engines. Two cargo bays had already taken minor structural damage as blue beams partially broke through the shields.

The cyborgs were down to just ten fighters out of fifty but, in typical fashion, they were still attacking relentlessly and with no regard for their own safety. Sally and Elliott's luck somehow held out as the fighter leader received an update and a new order from the ground force.

"Fighter leader, disengage and land immediately! We need extraction on the ground."

The leader couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Commander Omicron, the Imperator's orders were explicit..."

"I know what the Imperator's orders are and I'm giving you mine!" Omicron's voice was a combustible mix of anger and desperation. "Disengage and land or there will be nothing of us left soon!"

Not being privy to this conversation Sally and Elliott were dumbfounded when their attackers banked away from them.

"Where are they going? They almost had us," Elliott was at a loss.

Sally just sighed in relief. "Don't ask me; just help me get the power back up. Leon might need our help getting off that thing."

**NCR frontline**

Sally and Elliott didn't know it at the time but Omicron was reacting desperately to unexpected events on the field. Driven into white hot rage by Gamma's destruction he'd ordered all his troops forward including the Arachnotrons. Initially they'd started to swing the balance back; their rockets and heavy chain gun fire cut through the Centurion and NCR ranks like a knife through butter and were threatening to break through the trench lines altogether.

This committal, however, was just what Boone and the NV forces had been looking for.

"It's got to be now Boone!" Riker had said. "Do it!"

Boone agreed and activated a secret transmitter that he'd been given long before the start of the battle by Jaden and Epsilon and sent a signal one valley away. It produced a scene that was just like the old western movies with the cavalry coming in at the last minute but, instead of men on horseback, the cavalry in this case was Epsilon's cyborg faction and Jaden's main army of Securitrons. The cyborg army suddenly found itself caught between the allied force in the trenches and this new force on its right flank which wasted no time in making its presence felt. Rocket after rocket and hails of multiplas fire slammed into their lines; cutting off legs and splitting some in two leaving Omicron and Rho in sheer disbelief.

"This isn't possible! How could this be happening?!" Rho gasped.

"I don't know but we have to get out of here now!" Omicron replied grimly. "The carrier isn't responding to our calls either. That leaves us only one option."

Rho recognised Omicron's expression and knew exactly what he was thinking. "Alright. If we can't win let's make sure their victory is a short and bitter one!"

Omicron nodded in approval before changing frequencies on his radio. "Fighter leader, respond immediately."

Rho glared over the battlefield with sadistic anger. How could things have fallen apart so completely and so fast? They'd set up the perfect strategy. Duping General Oliver and the Van Graffs into creating the Patriots and attacking New Vegas, double crossing the Patriots and alienating the NCR from its friends in the process and then decimating the NCR army. The rest should have been easy, just mopping up the remnants of the NCR and setting up a new power base. But now, thanks to the Legion, the Courier and the damnable Lone Wanderer all of that was falling apart.

"I know what the Imperator's orders are and I'm giving you mine! Disengage and land or there will be nothing of us left soon!" Omicron's angry tirade jerked Rho back into the present. "We need to retreat Rho and make sure our failsafe is ready. Even if our army fails today..."

"...we'll rain fire on them and start over!" Rho finished for him. "What about the Imperator?"

"He led us into this defeat," Omicron snarled. "If he's deleted because of it then it's on his head. Now let's go!"

Having regained her cruel smirk and confidence Rho followed Omicron to meet up with their transport off the battlefield...

**Sky Carrier**

"The bigger they are the harder they fall, Delta!" Leon sneered. "In that thing you're easy to hit. Take your best shot, see who kills who first!"

"An excellent suggestion!" Delta opened up first with his chain gun forcing all of them to scatter for cover.

Yuna popped back up and let loose with a hail of energy fire. She knew it wouldn't be enough to take it down but she was damn well not going to lie down and die for Delta. She got a real shock when her bolts slammed home not on Delta but on some kind of shield he'd beamed around his warmech.

"Like my new nanite shield?" Delta gloated. "It blocks any type of energy fire and renders it useless as long as the power in my suit is active and since it's nuclear powered I can keep this going forever and a day! Now let's see how much damage this can _really_ do!"

"Oh hell!" Jaden swallowed hard as Delta armed his electric rail gun and aimed it at their cover. "Move!"

They only just moved aside in time. The gun produced a huge ball of Tesla electricity that blasted the crates they'd been hiding behind upward and charged the air around with a vicious electric field. All of them had no doubt it would fried the flesh from their bones if they'd been completely caught in it. This was quickly followed up by more chain gun fire and plasma bolts keeping them on the move all the time.

"What now?" Yuna despaired as they cowered behind another set of shelves. "He'll keep doing that until there's no cover left!"

"I've got an idea, not sure it'll work but it's all I've got," Leon said. "But we have to work together and do this right...we'll only get one chance!"

"What do we do?" Jaden asked as an almost hysterically laughing Delta started aiming plasma fire at their position.

"We take it together and you need to start by running straight at him!" Jaden stared at Leon as if he'd lost his mind but Leon just grinned back at him. "Trust me this'll work."

**NCR frontline**

The sight of their new allies had given the main army all the hope and courage they ever needed. The Legion, NCR and Vegas troops charged at the cyborgs like a tidal wave. Many fell dead or wounded as the cyborgs returned fire, including Colonel Moore as she and the officers had joined on the front line, but soon the cyborgs found themselves overrun. Ashley, Boone, the Aces and all of Jaden's other friends were flying high on rage and adrenaline as they opened fire at full automatic. Boone and Blaine started precision sniping cyborgs with their anti-materiel rifles; Riker was having a lot of fun with his new Gatling laser tearing Arachnotrons in half at their torsos.

The Legion was soon up close and personal and following his example, sticking chainsaws and thermic lances into the throats and exposed flesh of their enemies. Even the Revenants weren't enough to stop this enraged human horde hungry for revenge; their sharp limbs were either getting smashed up close by Legion sledgehammers or melted and long range by Securitron rockets and militia lasers.

In short the battlefield was turning into a bloody slaughterhouse with massive casualties on both sides...but the allies were starting to turn the tides in their favour. With the Securitrons and Epsilon's humanised cyborgs on the field Delta's side no longer had the overwhelming firepower all on their side. On top of that their field commanders had seen which way the wind was blowing and had turned tail and fled, leaving them headless and rudderless. The human army was still taking losses but it was only a matter of time before they won out...

**Sky Carrier**

Up above things were not looking so hot. It was a constant game of cat and mouse with Delta demolishing much of the available cover with electric blasts at long range and flame jets when he got in close. Jaden wasn't sure they had anything like enough to take Delta down, it was like fighting a tank indoors and he wasn't sure what Leon had in mind. Still he trusted Leon and so he was following his plan to the letter...by charging out at Delta and fighting him up close.

"I always knew you were brave, Courier, though I never thought you were insane," Delta mocked as Jaden's plasma fire impacted on his shields but did little else. "Still if you want a quick deletion who am I to deny you?"

Delta's expression turned to one of amazement as he raised his flame arm and aimed at Jaden. Instead of backing away in fear Jaden just kept running straight at him! As far as Delta could make out this was pure insanity, none of Jaden's fire could reach him through his shield...until the realisation hit him and he realised that he'd let his mouth run too much as Jaden ran _through _the shield. It stopped all manner of focused energy but it didn't stop anything physical like a person. Delta had never rated human courage or the possibility of one charging into close combat with his warmech.

It was a mistake that Jaden took full advantage of. On penetrating the shield he quickly rolled to side and targeted the flame gun with his VATS system causing it to blow out in a cloak of flame. Delta, however, was far from finished. He grabbed hold of Jaden with one of his pincer claws and hoisted him into the air.

"You're courageous but you're a fool Jaden Storm!" Delta snarled as he started to crush Jaden in his grip causing Jaden to scream as blood ran from his mouth. "You could have been part of the future alongside us! It's a future where there are no more feuding nations and no more human failure."

"Not my future!" Jaden spat a mix of blood and spit onto the front of the warmech.

"Yes," Delta agreed with a cold gloating expression. "That's right. You don't have any future now, I'll see to that. Farewell Courier, I'll crush you just like I crushed everything else that got in my way!"

"You couldn't even crush me, Delta!"

"What!?"

Leon decloaked inside the shield and Delta gasped in horror as the Wanderer slapped a C4 charge onto the front of his viewing hatch. He dropped a gasping Jaden and desperately tried to slap it off...too late. Leon jumped away and pressed the detonator whilst shielding Jaden from the worst. Delta screamed as the glass in the hatch shattered with the force of the explosion but his problems had only just started. Yuna had snuck up through the shield behind him and had stuck another C4 charge onto the back of the warmech. This detonation didn't just take out the shields as Leon had hoped but, combined with Leon's attack at the front, it knocked out Delta's connection to the internal reactor and his suit lost all power and control. Yuna grinned with malicious satisfaction as it toppled over to the ground.

The satisfaction soon gave way to concern as she saw Leon and Jaden stumbling to their feet. Leon's back, torso and arms had been badly burned as he'd shielded Jaden from the force of the explosion but, as ever, he was healing fast. Jaden had suffered a fair bit of internal damage to his ribs and organs but he too was healing thanks to his implants and the stimpak Leon jammed into him.

"Is being a hero also mean you're always fucking insane!" Yuna chided both of them. "What the hell were you two thinking with that?!"

"A calculated risk," Leon grinned and Jaden joined him as they saw Delta's warmech was down. "As you can see it worked...oh hell."

Yuna turned back to the warmech to see it moving slightly. "No way! Not aga..."

The ruined hatch was punched off its hinges by a gold fist and a badly damaged Delta crawled into view. His organic face was punctured by glass and he was losing a lot of blood but it didn't seem to slow him down and he was almost radiating hatred. "You...!"

"Got too hot in the kitchen for you, Delta?" Jaden quipped.

"It was your big mouth that gave you away," Leon told him coldly. "You said no _energy _weapons would penetrate your fancy toy's shields but that didn't mean anything else would."

"And you never figured anyone would have the courage to charge straight at you and use heavy explosives close up," Yuna finished off.

Jaden shook his head sadly. "You were strong Delta, one hell of an opponent. But you had 2 fatal flaws: you underestimated us and you trusted no one else enough so they would help you. I know I'm strong but I'm stronger when I have friends around me! Pity you never learned that."

Leon was just as scornful. "Just like your old boss Alpha, you only saw the weakness and the worst in humanity. You just assumed we were all Colonel Autumns, Commander Devlins. Caesars or Burkes. You forget how humanity survived over the years. Alright we're an engine of destruction at times but we endure and we rebuild. We also have a habit of doing crazy stuff to protect the things we care about. As you just found out all of us were prepared to die to take you down!"

"You 'heroes' and your pretty speeches," Delta spewed with bile in his voice. "But think on this; you delete me then you decapitate my whole race and they'll have no commander at all. Odds are they'll die out completely without guidance from me or another primary leader cyborg. You heroes will become genocidal just like me. Are you prepared to soak your hands in blood and make my race extinct?"

"You'll forgive us if we hold back the tears," Yuna snorted.

Leon chuckled. "And you're wrong about that anyway, Delta, your species will survive but it'll be under much more deserving and compassionate leadership! A leader we already made a good deal with; funny considering he was right under your nose all this time!"

At first Delta thought Leon was bluffing but then it sank in as to who Leon was talking about. "Epsilon...so he did betray us. Well it hardly matters! I'll finish you all here and now and then I'll deal with him appropriately!"

"Don't kid yourself," Jaden raised his rifle again. "You're hardly in prime condition."

"So says the two heroes racked with injury," Delta popped out a sword from his right wrist. "I'm not damaged enough that I can't fight and snap you in two."

Leon smiled cruelly. "That's a matter of opinion. See what you're up to your ass in, Delta? Do the honours Yuna, you deserve it."

Delta looked down and realised he was in deep trouble. Namely in a mixed pool of leaking oil, lubricant and jet fuel from his warmech and its broken flame arm.

Yuna raised her laser rifle one more time with trembling arms. "Fry you son of a bitch!"

Her two quick laser shots ignited the flammable mix and Delta was suddenly trapped in a lake of fire and turned into a screaming bipedal torch. His shrieks of agony echoed throughout the whole level as his flesh roasted with the caustic fuel sticking onto his armour and spreading through his innards.

The three heroes backed off and watched without a shred of pity. In their minds there could be no redemption for Delta. He'd murdered Yuna's father, he'd trashed Baltimore Haven, taken thousands upon thousands of lives and ruined or displaced so much more. He would have gone even further if they hadn't stopped him here and everyone knew it.

"Are you ok?" Leon finally asked Yuna as Delta's burned out husk crashed to the ground for the last time. "How do you feel?"

"Better. Not great...but I'm getting better," Yuna smiled a little and Leon knew she was going to be alright. His feelings had been much the same when he'd sent Colonel Autumn to hell.

"We'd better get to the bridge and finish this," Jaden urged. "And make sure the head of this snake is well and truly gone!"

No one disagreed and they moved on leaving Delta, the self anointed Imperator, to rot at the site of his final battle.

**NCR frontline**

Down below the battle had finally been sewn up. Delta's cyborgs had finally been wiped out though the cost was beyond horrific. Over half the NCR and Legion armies had been wiped out and the Vegas militia had lost a third of its force too. Two of the Aces were slightly hurt; Chelsea and Blaine had been hit by splash damage from Arachnotron rockets although they were expected to pull through with no long term problems.

On the NCR side Colonel Moore was wounded and in a lot of pain. She'd been hit by three plasma bolts and was barely able to stand up as a medic patched her up with stimpaks and first aid. Major Polatli and Lieutenant Hayes were dead, both killed in the final rush.

Varo and Vulpes were still alive though many of their fellow Legion troops weren't and they were feeling more than a little alarmed. Their plan hadn't included the presence of Securitrons or these other 'allied' cyborgs that had suddenly come to their rescue alongside the NV militia.

"They're nervous," Cass smirked as she noticed their reaction.

"As well they might be," Epsilon smiled coldly as he joined Boone and Riker at the head of the reformed Vegas lines.

"If there's a time it's got to be now, Boone," Riker advised.

"I agree."

On hearing that all the Aces got up and joined Epsilon, Boone and Cass, especially Chelsea and Layla, who'd been looking forward to this moment with relish.

At first Hanlon, Koenig and the rest had been elated to see the Securitrons and Epsilon's cyborgs but now they were starting to feel like swimmers surrounded by sharks.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Hsu muttered quietly to Hanlon as the party strode toward them with intent. Hanlon, Koenig and every other NCR on the field were sharing that same feeling and they weren't disappointed.

Epsilon took the lead. "Hello Senator. I'm here to tell you that on behalf of the New Vegas Alliance and our new nation of Cyberia we are assuming control here. Now I hope there's not going to be any resistance to this arrangement..."

"You don't have the legal authority to do that!" Hsu objected.

Epsilon's voice went cold. "Authority no but we certainly have the power." Every Securitron, cyborg and Vegas militiaman had armed their weapons and were pointing them at the NCR and Legion remnants. "I'd prefer this to be peaceful but it can easily be otherwise. So what will it be?"


	25. A bang, a whimper, a triumph and the end

Wow, what an intense week. I've found my writing flow again and now it's time to close the book on this fic. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, your support, favourites and follows kept me going. Not that I'm done by a long shot, I've got another one or two fics cooking. I might be gone a few days for some 'research' (going to have to put F3 back into my PC and play it again...tragic!) but I'll be back.

Superstar Kid: I'm somewhat sad as well but all things have to come to an end and all that. I hope this doesn't disappoint too much. You'll have to wait until the next fic for your Capital Wasteland update but don't worry about Amata...too much.

eaglescorch: They got off the ground alright and they do have one last card...

Oddliver: There's going to be a third fic but I'm taking it in a different direction. Don't want to be known as a one trick pony or a one plot writer with one enemy alone.

Chazzen01: Thanks. Perhaps I should have made clear at the start this was a sequel fic but I didn't want to ruin the surprise of the cyborgs' return or the Lone Wanderer's entrance.

So now it's time for the final part and the ending. Thank you again and I'll see you on the next one...

**Sky Carrier-Bridge**

The trio of heroes met surprisingly little resistance as they'd moved on through the ship after their victory and were stunned to be met by an empty bridge. Little did they know it but Sigma had been keeping tabs on the battle and the minute he'd seen Delta go down he'd ordered a complete evacuation. He'd used Delta's express elevator and fled down to a waiting sky fighter in the launch bay. Every other cyborg on the ship was following his example and abandoning the carrier as fast as they could. Not that Leon or Jaden were comforted by this, just the reverse in fact.

"They've locked all the computers and controls down! We can't access anything!" Yuna muttered.

"Not unexpected," Leon shrugged his shoulders as he reached for a handheld radio to contact the mothership. "We knew it'd come down to this. Sally, are you ok? Glad to hear it. Can you set up a teleport link here? We're going to need him now and I suspect we haven't got too much time before they play their last card..."

**Area 51-Nevada desert**

Omicron and Rho had pushed their vehicle to top speed and had arrived back at their base in a fast ten minutes. Area 51 shared a similar design with the Divide in base construction except that its 10 nuclear silos hadn't self detonated and all were armed and fully operational.

"Sigma just signalled us," Omicron revealed to Rho as she landed the fighter outside the main command building. "The Imperator is deleted!"

The news hit Rho like a thunderbolt. "The Courier and the Lone Wanderer?"

"Yes. Sigma has evacuated the carrier and is five minutes behind us so we have a free hand to do what must be done!"

A callous smile returned to Rho's face. "You have the keys?"

Omicron passed her a set of keys in reply. "Go and get the codes. Those fools think they've won the day but they celebrate too soon! It's time to erase all of our errors and our archenemies and start over."

While Rho went to the base commander's old office to secure the arming codes Omicron used the elevator to the command centre to start the pre launch sequences and select targets on the computer's map. Very soon Flagstaff, Arroyo, Vault City, New Reno, all of the once conquered south NCR and the carrier's current position had been added to the targeting computer. Omicron knew it was a shame about the carrier but that was war for you, casualties and losses were sometimes inevitable.

One look at the facility radar told him Sigma and the remaining cyborgs from the carrier were now approaching the base. Sure enough Sigma joined him in the command centre followed by the cyborg bridge operators.

"You're just in time, Sigma," Omicron smiled.

"Good. The three of us are the only primary class left," Sigma said grimly. "The Imperator's trap failed miserably."

"This will not," Omicron promised. "We will soon see our enemies burn in nuclear fire."

Sigma smiled in agreement. "Yes, our enemies may have taken our mobile base but they don't know about this one or of its capabilities. No one will ever see this nuclear strike coming until our missiles are bearing down on them!"

"New Vegas isn't on the target list?" Rho asked in surprise as she came in bearing the access codes.

"Not much point in sending 1 or 2 missiles there given the defence grid House set up long ago," Omicron replied. "We'll destroy the NCR and the Legion capital first. Then once that's done we'll rearm the silos and target a whole salvo at New Vegas. Sooner or later it will be destroyed."

Their satisfaction was cut off by a drone. "Commander Omicron, incoming transmission!"

All 3 command cyborgs were at a loss. This base was supposed to be a complete secret so how could anyone be sending a message? Omicron soon found the answer as he tracked the transmission to its source.

"It's from the carrier. That only means two people I can think of!"

Omicron wasn't disappointed. He sent the transmission to the main screen and it showed Leon and Jaden standing on the carrier's bridge.

"Ah there you are," Leon grinned. "I wondered where you'd all sneaked off to."

Omicron bit down an angry retort at Leon's flippant humour. "We didn't sneak anywhere, Omega! We just made a tactical retreat."

"Glad some of you saw reason," Jaden said diplomatically. "Now can we start peace negotiations? I'd prefer to end this without one or both of our sides getting annihilated if that's ok with you."

Sigma snorted. "You seem to think you've won everything Courier. You've won nothing!"

"And why have peace when you can have total victory?" Omicron added with venom. "You deleted our overzealous Imperator but our race and our cause are far from finished as you will soon see."

"By that I can only assume you're talking about whatever nuclear arsenal you're sitting on at that base," Jaden replied coldly. "Don't give me that surprised look. I've been to the Divide, don't forget, so I know what these old military bases were armed with."

"Well worked out," Sigma complimented. "But your knowledge of it alters nothing."

Jaden seemed to ignore him as he pressed on. "I wouldn't bet on that if I was you, we are ready to counter if necessary. Ok, here's my deal: give up this war and we won't hunt you to extinction. You'll be free to start over, rebuild and join the company of civilisation."

Rho sneered in contempt. "Weren't you listening? Given we're about to delete you all we don't have to negotiate! What do you take us for?"

"Wrong question," Leon snapped in reply. "The question is what do you make of us? Do you think Jaden's the type to bluff? He's got more heart than I'll ever have, I wouldn't have given you metal pricks any chance at all! Speaking of which this is your last one! Stand down and talk or I won't be responsible for what comes next!"

"I'll show you what comes next!" Omicron couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I thought the two of you would be more intelligent than this. You may be great forces on the battlefield but otherwise you 'heroes' are nothing more than two more stupid humans! Humans who are overdue for deletion! Fire all missiles!"

The drone control operators complied and, with a few keyboard strokes, opened every silo. A few seconds later 10 ICBMs burst high into the sky.

"All warheads armed; all flight systems stable and all trajectories locked. First impacts in 1 minute."

"All NCR cities and the Legion capital are the targets," Omicron revealed as he callously smiled. "The last one is targeted on Washington DC. After all, we still owe you for our first defeat Omega!"

Much to Omicron's disappointment and amazement Leon seemed indifferent. "I told you this was a waste of time, Jaden."

Jaden sighed. "That's ok, I expected it anyway. Ok little guy, do it!"

The cyborgs' confusion was quickly turning to alarm as klaxons started going off in the control centre.

"What is happening?" Omicron knew this couldn't be right.

A drone confirmed his fears. "All missiles deviating off course."

"Well reset them!" Rho barked angrily.

"Impossible, primary system control has been transferred elsewhere."

"We did warn you," Jaden smiled. "They'll blow up somewhere over the Pacific."

One look at the computer map showed he was telling the truth. All of the local missiles were heading out to sea. "Missiles 1-9 about to detonate!"

As the missiles exploded uselessly Omicron stared at Leon and Jaden in hatred and at a total loss. "How did you do this? Our system was hack proof!"

Leon shrugged. "If Jaden taught me anything it's that having friends counts for a lot, even if they are the small kind."

He stood aside to reveal ED-E accessing Delta's main command console on the bridge. Delta, being the despotic tyrant he was, had installed an override system on the carrier so he could launch the warheads anytime and from anywhere. Epsilon had provided ED-E with the proper access codes plus Leon had insulated and reinforced his circuits so there wouldn't be a repeat of his twin's tragic end at the Divide.

Omicron was aghast but the bad news wasn't to end there for him.

"Missile 10 is returning! Impact in 50 seconds!" Missile 10 was, of course, the warhead that had been destined for the Capital Wasteland. Now it had done a U-turn and was flying straight back at them with its warhead armed and its failsafe off.

"I guessed you'd do something like this so I told ED-E to 'return that one to sender', to use a courier term," Leon spat.

"Wait! You don't have to do this; you've proved your point!" Omicron blustered.

"You had your chance and you blew it!" Jaden shot back sharply.

"You're just getting the same mercy you showed to everyone else," Leon was even colder. "We wouldn't stop this now even if we could. Say hi to Alpha and Delta for me!"

"Twenty seconds to impact!"

Omicron, Rho and Sigma ran from the room in sheer desperation and all to no avail. The missile slammed into the facility and detonated before they were halfway down the stairs to the exit.

**NCR frontline**

Dan Kerrigan was feeling exhilarated, overawed and worried all at once. Exhilarated because he had just fought and won thorough a major battle alongside the Mojave Brotherhood in the rear trenches, a little worried because Yuna was nowhere to be found; though he had some suspicions as to where she was and overawed because he sensed history in the making...and the fact that the mothership and the cyborg carrier had descended from the clouds and were hanging over the battlefield leaving him and everyone else in awe.

Dan guessed how his friends were going to show themselves and wasn't disappointed. Sure enough a control panel appeared out of nowhere and then Leon, Jaden and Yuna teleported in next to it.

"Excellent timing," Epsilon went over to meet with them first. "As you can see everything went to plan and all's in hand here."

"Delta's finished and so are all the other commanders," Leon grinned. "Their nuclear plan backfired on them."

Epsilon sighed in relief. "Then it's finally over."

"The battle is, yeah," Jaden agreed. "But the clear up's only just beginning. Time to get this over with and get things moving, I guess."

All of them walked over to where the NCR and Legion forces had been corralled and surrounded by the NV and cyborg allied forces in time to hear a recovered Colonel Moore ranting uselessly and being taunted by the Legion.

"...I can't believe this is happening! I thought...!"

"Oh you _thought_, did you profligate?" Vulpes couldn't believe the NCR had survived this long with the leaders that it had. "I must have been really unlucky to have missed such an earth shattering event!"

Moore fumed in anger as there were laughs all round from her own side as well as the Legion.

"So when did you have this thought then?" Vulpes went on acidly. "When we were surrounded or before? I had my thought a long way before then. It was a very simple clean and uncomplicated thought: how the hell did Jaden Storm do all this? I hope it's a thought I'll get an answer to now." Vulpes had seen Jaden and his friends approach.

Jaden smiled. "I suppose I owe you that much Vulpes. It didn't take much for me to work out that you and the Legion would try for a takeover when this was over so I beat you to the punch...with the help of my new friends that is."

"Yes, the timing was perfect," Epsilon continued. "The Courier was looking for an edge against the Imperator and we were looking to break free of him. It only took a little planning and one meeting for us to forge our alliance."

Vulpes was more than a little ticked off but he just stared at them with grudging admiration. "So you cut a deal with these renegades and they make it possible for you to deploy your robots out here?"

"One of my strengths is making friends," Jaden agreed. "Something you and the NCR _don't_ excel at. I knew you'd hope that we'd wear ourselves out on the cyborgs and leave California free for your taking so I found a way around that."

Vulpes handclapped for a few seconds. "Well done Courier. You play the game much better than I anticipated. So what happens now? Are you going to cement your victory by executing us all?"

"I'm sure a few people would love me for doing that but no I'm not," Jaden answered. "I have my code just as the Legion has its own and despite your ulterior motives you still came out to help. You fought hard and took the losses to prove it so I'm letting you go and giving you safe conduct back to your territory."

"And that's all we get? That and a 'thank you' for helping us out?" Varo muttered.

"That and a whole load of glory," Jaden grinned while not rising to the bait. "Think about the tales of the great Legion heroes who helped New Vegas end one of the biggest threats to humanity since the Great War. I imagine they'll be told around your campfires for years to come, am I right?"

Vulpes smiled coldly. "You know us better than I gave you credit for. You're one man I wish had been born east of the Colorado. Until we meet again then, Jaden Storm." Vulpes gave the Legion salute.

"Vale, Vulpes."

"Vale indeed. Varo, get the Legions into marching column. We're going home for a triumphal return." Vulpes then turned to Moore and the remaining NCR. "Until next time, profligates. Well if there _is_ a next time!"

He looked at Jaden and Epsilon knowingly before he walked away with Varo laughing coldly.

As Jaden turned to them the NCR soldiers could see why; his eyes didn't hold much warmth. "All of which leads me to you and the question that's been eating at me for awhile: what will I do now?"

"If you're going to kill us just do it and get it over with!" Moore spat in rage. "That's twice you've betrayed us!"

"That's rich coming from you; the force that murdered my parents!" Jaden shot back sharply, his voice cracking with emotion. "You want to know something? I started out believing in your ideals. I believed in democracy and bringing law and safety back to the wastelands and I still do now. But your country lost sight of that years ago. You just kept expanding, growing and getting greedy for whatever you could grab, all the time thinking you were invincible and had the right to grab anything from anyone, anywhere."

"I knew a group that had a similar point of view once," Leon stood next to Jaden. "And its name was the Enclave. I think you know what happened to them. Many people look at you and they ask where's the difference?"

"A question I heard again and again when I was wandering the Mojave," Jaden agreed. "You poured money and lives away for four years in Vegas because you were too arrogant to admit you'd bit off more than you could handle. You tried to bully the Boomers into negotiating by cutting off their water flow and of course there was that little thing called Bitter Springs. In the end I couldn't bring myself to support arrogance like that. By depriving you of New Vegas I'd hoped to cure you of that and shake your government and politicians awake as to what you were doing. Too much to hope for I see."

"You're preaching to the choir as far as I'm concerned Jaden," Hanlon said weakly, knowing he was grasping at straws. "Believe me I've seen what you're talking about in the Senate the last few months. But it can still be cured; we can turn it around if you'll give us more time and trust us a little more..."

"Been there, tried that, didn't work!" Jaden cut Hanlon off brutally. "I tried to build trust and mend fences with you once and what did I get for my trouble? Oh yes that's right, Oliver and his Patriot terrorists."

"Something I could personally tell you about!" Cass was giving her rage full vent. "Given I nearly got killed by those whisky dicks!"

"Bottom line: I'm through trusting you," Jaden said venomously. "So are the people of New Vegas. I should have listened to them and my cabinet and put my foot down on you sooner. We might not be where we are now if I had. You let the cyborgs played you like puppets and got us into this situation...so now it's peace on my rules!"

"What does that mean? You're going to invade the rest of the NCR and finish what the cyborgs started?" Koenig asked fearfully.

Jaden shook his head. "No, there's been enough slaughter this month for 3 lifetimes. But I'm through bailing you out of your own problems and mistakes. What I'm going to do is honour the deal I made with Epsilon and then I'm taking my troops home for good."

Arcade grinned as the NCR personnel got blank looks. "Oh that's right, we forgot to tell you didn't we? We had to cut a deal to get Epsilon and his cyborgs on board but it didn't come cheap. He made us promise to give him a new homeland...so we thought the conquered half of the NCR would do!"

"You're not serious!" A horrified Moore gasped. If that happened the NCR would be cut in two, deprived of most of its industrial resources and left very vulnerable.

"Very serious actually," Epsilon coldly informed them. "Given humans' treatment of ghouls and mutants in recent years we need a home of our own where we can safely establish ourselves and live in peace. After what Jaden told me of what your people tried to do in Jacobstown this is a proven fact. Given my people are all cyborgs now and don't trust you to either defend them or live peacefully beside them, this is the only real choice."

"And my troops are heading home permanently," Jaden added frostily. "So if you want to try grabbing the land back you'll be doing it alone! Same applies if the Legion or anyone else invades!"

"So this is it?" Hsu was aghast. "You can't just cut us apart and leave us at the mercy of the Legion!"

Jaden was unflinching and unrelenting. "Oh yeah? Watch me! I've had all I can take. I'm not going to waste any more Alliance people and resources defending an arrogant nation that killed my parents, helped destroy innocent refugee caravans and that's looking to stab us in the back all the time! The trust between my government and yours is forever broken. There's only one way I'd be persuaded to help you again."

"And that would be?" Hanlon sensed Jaden was throwing him a rope but knew the price would be heavy.

"Well as I said my government would never sanction help for you after all this; but if the NCR were to come in with us and it was a matter of defending our own territory...that's another matter."

With those words Hanlon realised what Jaden had been planning all along. Not that the realisation did him any good, it was too little too late and Hanlon knew it. The NCR remnant wasn't anywhere near enough to stand on its own and it was hopelessly surrounded by the Legion, New Vegas and now Cyberia; all of which were hostile states.

"Do you seriously expect the people of the NCR to agree to this?" Moore still wasn't done despite knowing Jaden had all the aces and all the NCR had was a pair of twos waiting on a facedown card.

"I don't care whether they do or not! It's the only deal I'm offering!" Jaden spat.

"But we're a democracy!" Hsu protested.

"Fancy that. So are we," Jaden retorted. "Every settlement in the Alliance gets a seat at the top table. Yours will be no different. I'm heading back to Vegas now; I've been away far too long and I need some R&R along with my troops. I'll be back in charge of the government by this time next week. You've that long to make up your minds. Goodbye."

With that Jaden turned on his heel and walked away with Leon, the Aces and all his other friends following behind. To add salt in the wound for Moore a good size chunk of the NCR force, including Ashley and Reyes, broke ranks and joined the NV militia and Brotherhood troops as they formed up into marching columns before starting the trek home for Vegas territory. Ramos and the Brotherhood were smirking all the way to the bank as they passed by. The wheel had come full circle and this was just desserts on the NCR as far as they were concerned. The Securitrons and cyborgs followed soon after.

They left a dejected, depleted, demoralised and broken NCR army in their wake.

"Colonels, Chief Koenig," Hanlon called them over after a very long 2 minute silence. "Form up what forces we have left and head for Vault City. We'll use that as our temporary command post. I'll liaise with the remaining senators and settlement mayors there before I leave for Vegas in a few days."

Moore was finding it hard to keep tears from her eyes. "Damn it, you can't be thinking of giving up! Not after all this!"

"Cassandra, it's over!" Hanlon didn't want to admit the truth of his own words but he knew denial served nothing. "We've been outmanoeuvred and outplayed, it's a fait accompli. Jaden Storm and Epsilon have already won."

"He's right," Koenig felt just as ill. "No wonder that bastard Vulpes left laughing. He must have seen what Jaden was up to. There's no way we can rebuild and restore the NCR with what we've got left. If the Legion brings back more troops and they will when they find out how weak we are...we wouldn't withstand them, not for long anyway."

"Well I don't know about you but I'd rather live under Vegas than Legion any day," Hsu said. "Jaden's a much better prospect than Vulpes or Caesar. Given all that's happened it's amazing he's offering us this much."

Hardly anyone could believe the situation, it was almost inconceivable. History had repeated: the NCR had been defeated by the very same person who'd outdone them at Hoover Dam and this time he'd not only beaten them, he'd all but conquered them. Surrendering to the Courier left a bitter taste but they knew Hsu had spoken sense. Jaden wasn't an evil slaver or destroyer; he was just a man who'd been pushed too far and for too long. They'd reached the limits of his indulgence and everyone knew he wouldn't back down now. Bitter Springs, the Patriots and their self serving supporters from the Congress had given Jaden all the justification he needed.

"Well unless anyone else comes up with a bright idea at Vault City...I'm going to accept the Courier's offer," Hanlon said.

There was no other word of argument from the others. There simply weren't any other realistic alternatives from where they stood. The NCR was finished, gone out with a bang and then a whimper...

**Lucky 38 penthouse-late next day**

"Well it's been fun Jaden, but it's time for me to go," Leon said as he met up with Yuna and Dan by the teleport link to the mothership. "I'm actually going to miss this place."

"You have a weird definition of fun, Leon," Jaden grinned. "And I'm going to miss you too. Can't you stick around awhile longer? I'm going to have so much to do in the next few months. Expanding the alliance into California, rebuilding the militia, making ties with the Legion, Epsilon and his Cyberia nation, not to mention figuring out what to do with that carrier!"

The cyborg carrier had been brought back to Vegas and was now safely stored on the ground at the Boomers' Nellis airfield.

"Oh I'm sure you'll find some use for it," Leon assured him. "It's not like this world's run out of threats after all."

"Exactly! I need all the help I can get building this nation back up," Jaden implored. "I could really use you."

Leon shook his head. "I can't Jaden. Your place is here, mine is in the Capital Wasteland and it's gone without me for far too long." Leon suddenly got a brainwave as he looked at the teleport control. "But...this doesn't have to be goodbye for good."

Jaden's brow knotted in confusion. "How's that? I can't leave my nation and travel all the way across the continent. I'm a good courier but even I can't go that far!"

"You don't have to. I spoke with Sally up on the ship and she says she can leave this teleport link open permanently. There's another one just like it in the Capital Wasteland. With the two of them together you could reach it in minutes. Both of us can hop back and forth!"

"You're serious?" Jaden was elated.

"When have I ever been anything else?" Leon replied. "The Free Capital Republic has its share of problems and we need all the allies we can get too."

"No kidding," Dan backed him up. "The Super Mutants are still all over us and there's no telling when another one of Vault-Tec's fuck ups is going to bite us in the ass."

It was an uncomfortable truth that both Leon and Jaden knew well. Over the last day they'd traded a load of stories and past battles, including the vault horrors. Both men had been sickened to hear the tales of the other wastelands' vaults. It was hard to grasp that all this had been caused by a vault experiment 200 years old and based thousands of miles from Vegas itself.

"All we can do is keep on going and stay vigilant," Leon said. "It's not like we can turn back time. Anyway Jaden, if you ever need some time out from here or want to try walking on my path for awhile, use it and come across. It might be a rougher wasteland than what you're used to but since you survived the Divide I think you'll be at home in no time!"

"I'll do that sometime," Jaden promised. He was a wanderer and explorer at heart as well as a courier and the thought of exploring another wasteland intrigued him no end.

"Now that I've got this place's communication frequency I'll see if we can establish a link to here from the Citadel when I get home," Leon promised. "We should keep in touch. Until next time Jaden."

"Until next time."

Leon hit the button and teleported to the ship along with Yuna and Dan.

Jaden stared at the teleport console feeling more than a little tempted...

"Oh no you don't!" Cass and Veronica stood on the balcony above and it had been Cass that had stopped him. "You're due some R&R remember? We all are after this crazy war."

"As tempting as it is to go after him now I'm all for that," Veronica said. "We should all go get a drink or two."

"Now that sounds like an idea I can go for!" Cass grinned. "Oh, one thing first Jaden. Cachino said he wanted to meet with you."

"Did he say what about? Couldn't it have waited until the next cabinet meeting?"

Veronica shrugged. "Only that it was urgent and couldn't wait, actually he seemed pretty nervous. He said he'd meet you in one of the grand suites up in Gomorrah."

"Sounds like he's in paranoid mode," Jaden muttered. "Alright I'll go see him. Get a party set up and going. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Jaden missed the sly look in the girls' eyes. As soon as the elevator doors closed both of them high-fived.

"Oh no you won't Jaden. Mission accomplished at last!" Veronica grinned. "I can't believe we pulled that off!"

"Or that everyone else but him knew!" Cass joined her in smiling. "Now where's that scotch? I need a shot or three!"

"Better make it more than that," Veronica joked. "We might want to be drunk and flat out when he does come back so he can't get us for setting him up!"

Both were gloating over the fact that they'd just sent him into an 'ambush' of sorts. It wasn't Cachino waiting to see him in the suite but a drunk, naked and totally uninhibited Ashley who was waiting for a 'big package' delivery from her favourite Courier...

**End sequence**

_And so, with the death of Delta and the destruction of all his followers, peace finally returned to the West Coast. Although the cost had been horrific and the loss of life had been extreme the Courier, with the help of the Lone Wanderer, was able to withstand the bloody tides of change that had assailed the land from the east instead of being swept away by them. He forged a new order out of the ruins of the NCR and his actions would have great repercussions..._

_Despite much bitter feeling over the destruction of their nation and being betrayed again by the Courier, the NCR remnants accepted his offer of annexation into the New Vegas Alliance preferring to keep their democracy and safety intact against the risk of defeat and enslavement by the Legion. Colonels Hsu, Moore and Chief Koenig were eventually accepted into the Alliance militia forces, as were most of the NCR army. Senator Hanlon became the government representative for Vault City after brokering the agreement with the Courier. Ironically Jaden's former companion, the Super Mutant Lily, was chosen as the representative for Arroyo after finding her family there and her close ties to the Courier were made public._

_Although he'd survived the war Senator Horace Caldwell was never able to come to terms with the events of the last month. The failure of the Patriots, the loss of his son, the destruction of his beloved country and the realisation that the Courier wouldn't take any action against the Lone Wanderer for his son's death overwhelmed him and a week later...he took his own life._

_The Van Graffs didn't survive the betrayal of their cyborg 'benefactors'. Soon after Gloria, Jean Baptiste Cutting and the rest of the family were incarcerated in New Reno, cyborg infiltrator assassins introduced the same toxin from the Big Empty into the air system of their jail. All died as their victims in New Vegas had; drowning in their own blood in agony._

_Ashley and her family settled permanently in New Vegas after Jaden gave them a new restored farm north of the city. Bill and Kelly adopted Cody and Champ and named their new home Cold River farm in honour and memory of the home and friends they'd lost. Kelly finished repairing and restoring her recovered buggy and eventually joined the militia engineers. After their 'victory celebration' Ashley finally admitted to herself what she'd known for some time: that she loved the Courier and wanted to stay at his side._

_Although taking heavy losses in the final battle against the cyborgs Caesar's Legion didn't suffer much lasting damage. As the Courier had predicted Vulpes' fame and the story of the victory spread like wildfire across the Legion lands. In spite of his plan to capture the NCR failing his position as Legate was secured and, together with Gaius Varo, now fights to put down the few remaining rebellions and await the next round of his 'war game' with the Courier._

_Epsilon and Tau went to Junktown and the Hub to begin the reconstruction of the ruined land they now claimed as their new nation of Cyberia. Determined to see his dream of a peaceful and more enlightened race realised he pushed himself into rebuilding the shattered warzone into a new habitable zone in the wastes and into maintaining a good relationship with the Courier and the rest of humanity. Before leaving the Lone Wanderer warned him not to walk the path of his father or Delta. If that ever happened then the Wanderer promised that someone like him or someone like the Courier would be waiting for Epsilon one day. It was advice he took to heart. _

_The Lone Wanderer returned east triumphant knowing that he had finally laid another threat to the world to rest. Little did he know of the crisis that awaited him back at home that would strike at all he held dear or that he and the Courier were destined to cross paths again sooner than they thought..._

_As for the Courier he had performed the impossible once again; ending an old world threat, redrawing the map of the new one and strengthening New Vegas. Despite his great victory and forging new ties with the Lone Wanderer he still faced many more challenges. For securing a safe future against the forces of chaos, both modern and past, was a war he still had to fight. And war...war never changes. _


End file.
